


A "Jamie Potter" Plan (Scorpius)

by IzzyShep



Series: Malfoy Chronicles [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Adventure, Best Friends, F/M, First Love, First Time, Kidnapping, M/M, Teen Sleuthing, Temporary blindess, Wandless Magic, questionable decisions, silly plans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-13
Updated: 2017-02-25
Packaged: 2018-08-22 03:48:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 153,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8271548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IzzyShep/pseuds/IzzyShep
Summary: After coming out to Albus and hooking up with Jamie (Malfoy Chronicles Story 1), Scorpius finds himself drawn into a "Jamie Potter" plan that involves some sleuthing around Hogwarts, dealing with overly ambitious Ravenclaws, competitive Slytherins and concerned parents... And, of course, enjoying the deliciously hot Jamie Potter.Note: I've marked this M, but there are some fairly detailed descriptions of sexual activities. Nothing out of the ordinary, though. So, be forewarned.Additional note: If you recognize the characters, they aren't mine. If you don't recognize them, they probably are mine, and the plot you can definitely blame on me.





	1. Week One In The "Jamie Potter" Plan

Scorpius stopped for a moment on the stairs to catch his breath. He kept forgetting to breathe. For the last two hours he’d been doing that, forgetting to breathe and getting light headed, and it was all Jamie Potter’s fault. Not that it wasn’t absolutely delicious, because it was. Everything about Jamie, his lips, his tongue, his beautiful neck, his teasing eyes, his wicked smile, his playful mind… all of it was delicious, and Scorpius had taken in as much of it as he possibly could after Jamie came looking for him in the astronomy tower earlier that night. All of the crazy confusion of the past two months was erased in one simple moment, only to be replaced by a whole new crazy: the crazy of a “Jamie Potter” plan.

Now Scorpius had to figure out how to tell Albus that he and his brother were… what were they exactly? Well, they were definitely something, but whatever they were had to remain a bit quiet over the next couple of weeks because… of course… Jamie was working some kind of plan. It was all Scorpius could to to get Jamie to accept that he was going to have to tell Albus about them because he just could not lie to his best friend. Besides, they were both Slytherins, and despite what Jamie might think about his kid brother, he and Albus were sorted into the House of Slytherin for a reason.

Scorpius picked up his telescope and continued into the Dungeon Common Room knowing that the moment when he’d have to see Albus was fast approaching. He knew Albus sensed something brewing between Jamie and himself, but he wasn’t quite sure how he was going to actually say the words to Albus. How do you tell your best friend that you’re going to be snogging his brother on a regular basis… and, if things turned out well, a whole lot more than that. Scorpius Malfoy hadn’t been fantasizing about Jamie Potter for the last 6+ months for some kissing. That was for sure.

As he turned the door handle to their dorm room he took a deep breath. He was probably just going to have to wing it, because he had no idea what he was going to say.

The room was dim, but Albus was still awake, doing some reading at his desk.

“Hey” Scorpius started

“Hey… So” Albus jumped in before Scorpius could get going “did my brother find you in the astronomy tower?”

“Um… yeah…”

“I heard he was here a couple of hours ago looking for you.”

Okay… Scorpius thought, I guess news travels fast…

“Er… yeah…er… um… so…. well…” Scorpius tried to start a couple of times, feeling the heat rise in his skin, so much so he thought he might be breaking into a sweat. Merlin, this was harder than the time he came out to Albus.

Then Albus turned to look at him and cracked a half smile and shook his head. “You don’t actually have to say it out loud, Scorpius. Your face is a dead giveaway. I guess you and Jamie….” Albus raised his eyebrows up to try and say _'you’re a thing now_ ' without actually having to say it out loud.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

Albus laughed, “Well, I hope you know for sure before too long.”

Then Scorpius had to get to the next part, “Well, the thing is…”

“Oh, Merlin,” Albus groaned, “There’s always a ‘thing’ with Jamie. What is it now?”

“Well, we’re going to have to keep it a little quiet for a week or so...”

Albus’ eyebrows arched up again, but this time they clearly meant ‘okay, go ahead and explain this one to me…’

So, Scorpius began. “On the one hand this is kind of crazy, but on the other hand maybe not so much… The quick version is that Jamie stumbled on Dan O’Connor and Vic Crabbe hatching some kind of scheme in the library a few weeks ago and decided he needed to figure out what they were up to. So, he’s been nosing his way into their business by kind of leading Dan on. He hasn’t come up with anything solid other than some recreational stuff, nothing that other kids don’t do every once in a while, but Jamie’s pretty sure there’s more there. And, he’s almost positive that Dan had tried to drug him on Halloween… if he hadn’t gotten into a fight with me in the hall that night… he’s not sure what might have happened. He says he doesn’t remember much after he left me other than heading toward his dorm and waking up later passed out by his bed. So, long and short of it, he wants to try to see if he can figure out how to get himself in with Crabbe and O’Connor while kind of extricating himself from Dan thinking they’ve got something going.”

And with that, Scorpius took a breath to look at Albus, who looked decidedly unsurprised.

“Well, I’ll give my brother one thing, he clearly can’t wait to become an auror. Really, he’s running his own drug sting now?... That is just so ‘Jamie.’” Albus shook his head, then, “Well, so how long are the two of you supposed to pretend you’re ‘just friends’?”

“He’s thinking a couple of weeks?”

“Right,” Albus was nodding, “So, basically it’s probably going to take until winter break.”

“Well, maybe sooner…” Scorpius offered, “Maybe just the end of the month.”

“Actually…” Albus was thinking now, and started to get a gleam of interest in his eyes… “Actually, if you could keep it quiet until the break, that would give him much better cover for cooling things off with Dan… You know, he could go with the ‘something might have happened, but then things cooled off before the break, and now it’s been a month….’ That kind of thing. That could be believable.”

Scorpius was smiling now, “I told Jamie there was a reason we were sorted into Slytherin. That’s genius.”

“Well, as long as you keep things out of my sight, then I won’t have to feel like I’m hiding anything, because I won’t know anything, right?”

“Right.”

“But you know, sooner or later you’re going to have to tell people. And, by people I mean our parents… you do know that.”

“Right, but we’ve got until the break… and that’s nearly a month away. I’m sure I can figure out how to ease my dad into it by then.”

“I don’t know about that. I mean, I’ve been your friend for over four years, and I bet he wouldn’t be too thrilled if you were dating me.”

“What are you talking about? He loves you!”

“Sure… as your best friend. I’m not sure Draco’s really ready to have a Potter in the Malfoy family.”

“You think your parents are?”

“I don’t know… I’d like to think they’d be okay with it, but you never know until you know, right”

Scorpius thought about that. “Well, we have a month. And between then and now we’ve got this O’Connor and Crabbe thing as well as our practice OWLs…”

Albus walked over and patted Scorpius on the head with affection, “Okay then, if that makes you feel better. In the meantime, I might just have some fun with this.”

 

 ---- ^^^ ----

 

_Meet me in the library, 4 PM near Critical Theory of Magical Verse. – J_

With a little smile on his face, Scorpius pulled out his wand and whispered a quick _discutio_ over the note and it dissipated into nothing. The whole illicit relationship thing was kind of nuts, but, he had to admit, incredibly hot. Jamie had an encyclopedic knowledge of all the private nooks and crannies in Hogwarts, and over the past four days, with the aid of his invisibility cloak, they had been trying out a good number of them. Scorpius thought that it probably should bother him that his boyfriend (could he call Jamie that?) knew all these spots, but for some reason the knowing he did seemed to make it a little bit hotter.

When four o’clock rolled around, Scorpius made a beeline for the appointed location. This was their third time meeting in the library, and Scorpius thought Jamie picked it frequently because the fact that Scorpius knew every corner in that library reminded Jamie of his essential geekiness. The idea that Jamie liked that about him really turned Scorpius on.

He turned the corner to find Jamie just where he said he’d be, next to the section on Critical Theory of Magical Verse.

“Hi,” he said, looking at Scorpius and hooking his finger into the placket of Scorpius’ robe to bring him closer. “I missed you.”

Scorpius smiled, letting Jamie nibble on his neck a little, “It’s only been since lunch.”

 “I know, but when we were in Potions today Susan Flint spilled some partially cured polyjuice potion on Michael’s hand and his fingers turned into tiny snakes… and I thought of you.”

“That’s so… romantic?” Scorpius cocked an eyebrow at Jamie.

“Don’t tease me,” he whispered pulling Scorpius close enough to almost touch his lips to Scorpius’, “just kiss me.” Then he covered Scorpius’ mouth with his own, brushing his tongue over Scorpius’ lower lip, encouraging Scorpius to open his mouth so that he could tease Scorpius’ tongue with his own,

Scorpius let out a little moan, and Jamie wrapped his other arm around Scorpius and pulled him closer. He absolutely loved all the little sounds Scorpius made. In just the four days they’d been kissing regularly, he’d discovered at least seven distinct sounds he could prompt Scorpius to elicit. Among his favorites were the little gaspy inhaled breath he made when Jamie tickled his neck with light flicks of his tongue; the contented hum he made when their lips parted before they went their separate ways; that enticing moan he’d just made, the one he made when Jamie’s tongue first entered his mouth; and then there was the deeper groan he made when Jamie brushed against his groin with the palm of his hand… that one he just discovered yesterday afternoon and he definitely planned to get Scorpius to produce that particular sound as much as possible.

When they parted to take a breath, Scorpius asked “So, is this meeting purely for pleasure, or was there something you wanted to talk about?”

“Mainly for pleasure, but there was something I wanted to tell you.”

“Okay.”

“Everything’s still on for your birthday celebration tomorrow in Hogsmeade?“

“Mmm-hmmm” Scorpius answered, nibbling lightly on Jamie’s ear.

“Good, I’ll be there”

“Oh,” Scorpius backed off, “I hadn’t expected that.”

“I know, and I know it’s not officially your birthday yet… but I want to come.” He looked seriously in Scorpius’ eyes, “ I don’t want to miss anything important because of my questionable ideas.”

Scorpius smiled, but tried not to look too expectant, “Okay, but if you can’t…”

“I will… besides,” he trailed his finger under Scorpius jawline, “I’m sure I’ll be bored out of my mind with Crabbe and O’Connor. You have no idea.”

“Well,” Scorpius whispered into Jamie’s ear, “I’m sure I can come up with something to help you forget about it.”

“I’m counting on it.”

After a few more minutes, the two parted and Scorpius watched him go. Sometimes he didn’t know what came over him when he was with Jamie. Being with him just brought out a flirty side of himself that he didn’t know was there… and he really rather liked it.

 

\---- ^^^^ ----

 

That same afternoon Rose Weasley-Granger was busy studying for her practice OWLs and looked up to see her cousin Jamie exiting from a remote corner of the library, a corner she knew to be devoted to Magical Verse, not something she thought Jamie was studying at the moment. A few minutes later she saw Scorpius Malfoy exit out the other end of the stacks, but potentially from the same general area of the library.

She smiled to herself. That was a better attempt at a cover-up than most people made, but not quite good enough to escape her notice.

 

\---- ^^^^ ----

 

On Saturday morning Scorpius rose bright and early. It was true that he was an early morning riser, generally, but today he was particularly excited. It was a Hogwarts weekend, and they were going to be celebrating his birthday that night. Even though his birthday wasn’t officially until Tuesday, he couldn’t help but wake up with the feeling that this was the beginning of a new year. So much had happened in the last year… who knows what could to happen in the year to come?

At this time last year he hadn’t even come out to Albus yet, and now he was out to his family and friends. Better yet, he was kind of, maybe you could call it, boyfriends with an absolutely beautiful boy…. And, he wasn’t even the first guy Scorpius had kissed. _How had that happened?!_ School was going really well, he felt pretty confident about his practice OWLs, and Albus and he actually had a whole entire group of friends who were going to be joining them that night doe dinner and drinks. Topping it all off, Albus now had a girlfriend, too.

Scorpius looked over at the other bed and noticed that Albus was still dozing soundly. Saturday was the one day a week when Albus was actually happy to wake up, so Scorpius played alarm clock, nudging Albus out of bed so that he could get going and get down to his usual Saturday morning with the animals. Then Scorpius headed out for breakfast.

When he got to the Great Hall, there was another win – his favorite breakfast! Soft boiled eggs with soldiers. The wonderful thing about breakfast at Hogwarts is that the food was always perfectly cooked. The eggs were never overdone and never cold, and the toast was the perfect level of toasty-ness. Scorpius was feeling pretty good about everything when he looked over toward the Gryffindor table and spotted Jamie.

One moment he was all warm and bubbly inside just looking at Jamie Potter and then the next minute he felt an overwhelming revulsion. Ugh. Dan O’Connor had seated himself right next to Jamie, and it looked like he was trying to tickle Jamie or something. This cannot be real. Scorpius knew that Jamie was working on shedding Dan, but that didn’t keep him from feeling completely creeped out watching Dan poke and needle his boyfriend. Yuck. He was happy to see Jamie distance himself and put a hand out to back Dan off, though. He had consented to this plan, but he wasn’t liking the process.

While he was watching the whole unsavory scene he felt a hand drop on his shoulder and then a whisper in his ear.

“Jealous, Malfoy?” it was Rose Weasley-Granger, who was sitting herself right down next to Scorpius.

Scorpius closed his eyes and worked on his most innocuous face, then turned toward her, “What’s that?”

“Don’t play coy with me, Scorpius. You’re easier to read than 80% of the books in our library… which is where I happened to spot you yesterday looking a little too happy to be hanging out in the stacks – even for you.”

“I’m really not sure what you mean.”

“Uh-huh.” She nodded and smiled. “Well, if you don’t want people other than me to catch on, you need to work on changing the look on your face from jealous boyfriend to disturbed bystander. Either that, or just get mr. “I’m-not-sure-what-you-mean” to shed that nasty leech. I don’t know how that snake ended up in Gryffindor in the first place.”

“Oh, because he’s Slytherin material? Sorry, he doesn’t meet our standards, either.”

“How’s that?”

“Not nearly cunning enough.”

“Like you?” She laughed.

“Sure…” He looked at Rose out of the corner of his eye. “I may be the picture of the perfect geek, but you have no idea what I’m capable of, Rose Weasely-Granger.”

Then she started to laugh, “Okay, that may be true… I suppose it probably is, if the way “the someone we aren’t talking about” has been looking at you over the last couple of months is any indication.”

Then Scorpius did pink up, and Rose lit up and let out a satisfied, but quiet, laugh… “I knew it! Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me... and you do know what I’m capable of.” With that she smiled her best devious smile and went to get a little more to eat.

Scorpius was just leaving breakfast and about to head to the library to squeeze in some studying before his evening out when another hand dropped on his shoulder. This one was much bigger and heavier than Rose’s, though.

“Scorpius, I’m glad I caught you this morning.” It was Professor Williams.

“Oh, hello Sir. What is it?”

“I wanted to check in with you to see if we could schedule some time to work a bit on the issue we talked about in the infirmary.”

Right, Scorpius thought to himself, the wandless magic issue… otherwise known as the, ‘we need to get this thing under control before you push someone off a ledge’ issue.

“Right, um….” Scorpius wasn’t sure what Williams had in mind, and didn’t want to volunteer for more than was necessary at the moment. Although he did want to make sure he wasn’t randomly harming people, he was relatively certain that, with the exception of a certain Gryffindor snake, he wasn’t going to be pushed that far. The only person he had actually really kind of harmed so far was Dan O’Connor, and he had it coming.

“I know you’re busy studying, but now that the gym is closed and you’re off quidditch for the term, do you think you could squeeze in a couple of hours a week? We could schedule during your regular quidditch and gym time, Mondays and Wednesdays at 4?”

“Yeah, I think I could do that...” That didn’t seem too unreasonable, and he could work his schedule around that. His study groups met mainly in the evenings after dinner, so between class and dinner should be doable. “Yes, that would be great.” Scorpius feigned a little enthusiasm, knowing now that Williams didn’t expect anyone to fail to comply with one of his ‘requests’.

“Well, I’ll see you Monday, then, if I don’t see you in the House before.”

“Sounds good.”

“Have a nice weekend, then, Scorpius… and don’t celebrate too much this evening.”

Scorpius wondered how Williams knew about his plans for the evening. He supposed he probably heard things around the Common Room or the dorms, given that he was their Head of House… even so… He had a disarming way of kind of knowing things. Whatever it was, Scorpius wasn’t going to worry about it. There were worse things in the world than having Professor Williams know what you were up to… like watching your boyfriend be pawed by the school leech. Yuck. This plan of Jamie’s had better pay off.

 

\---- ^^^^ ----

 

Jamie nursed his lager and tapped on the Hogshead bar… waiting. He didn’t think of himself as a bar snob, but the Hogshead was decidedly rank this evening. But, he reminded himself, he wasn’t there for the décor or the company, he was trying to figure out what it was that Crabbe and O’Connor were up to. So far, the info he’d gleaned was kind of slim, but enough that he wanted to keep trying to dig deeper. To pass the time, and to convince himself that it was worth continuing this charade when he could be doing much more interesting things, he ticked off the ‘evidence’ he had to date.

First, there was the peculiar conversation between Vic and Dan in the library a month or so ago, where it was pretty clear that they were trying to have a private conversation about something. He knew Dan was no scholar, and Vic should have been at the quidditch match that afternoon. So, check one, they were both engaged in something out of the ordinary.

Second, there was the decided uptick in Dan’s fidgety behavior. Granted, Dan was a generally suspect guy at the best of times, in fact he probably wouldn’t still be at Hogwarts except for the fact that his mum was a Senior Auror. That being said, Dan had definitely been behaving in a more suspicious way lately, including how high strung and twitchy he’d been on multiple occasions over the past three weeks. It just wasn’t normal, and if Jamie were placing bets, he’d bet that Dan was definitely using something.

Third was the fact that Dan and Vic both seemed to have become a lot more comfortable with spending money. Dan was always kind of a spendthrift which Jamie always chalked up to Dan trying to use cash to win friends, but Vic was a total tightwad. The fact that Vic was now sporting for drinks when they went out said something… He had to be getting that cash from somewhere.

Fourth was the fact that Jamie had noticed people who normally wouldn’t be making conversation with O’Connor and Crabbe speaking with them. Jamie had seen one or the other of the two chatting on occasion with a number of surprising people, including a few 5th year Ravenclaws, and there was just no reason that O’Connor and Crabbe would have anything to speak with those kids about other than some kind of business. They sure weren’t offering them study assistance.

Finally, he had to throw in the potential that Dan, or at least he assumed it was Dan, had tried to slip him something on Halloween night. There was just no way he was that groggy and confused based on what he drank that night. The truth was that the only thing he really remembered well about that evening… the only thing… was having kissed Scorpius. He was almost positive he only remembered that was because it was so, very, very worth remembering.

As he sat there combing through his mind and trying to pull out any other noteworthy findings from the past three weeks, he noticed Dan coming in from the rear of the pub with Ian, the Hogshead bartender. He thought he was the first one there, but evidently he wasn’t. Dan was patting Ian on the back and Ian didn’t look exactly like he wanted Dan to be touching him. All Jamie could think was, you’re not alone in that, mate…

When Dan saw him at the bar, he seemed to make a specific effort to look casually surprised to see Jamie.

“Hey,” he hailed Jamie, “You’re early… you must be eager to see me.” then he shot him a smile.

Jamie shuddered a little. This was getting really old.

“Yeah, I just hit the wall with studying and decided to get a head start. I didn’t expect you or the others for at least another 30.”

“I’m the same as you. Once my head’s full, there’s no point in trying any further… more just won’t go in.”

‘It’s a wonder you make it to noon’ Jamie thought to himself, but smiled and nodded to Dan instead. “Let me buy you a drink. What are you having?”

“No, let me,” Dan countered, signaling to Ian, “Ian, I’ll have what he’s having, and put them both on my tab, okay?”

“Sure thing, Dan”

Jamie did his best to make small talk and seem interested, and keep a fair enough distance to avoid more than minimal person-to-person contact with Dan while they waited for the rest of the crowd. They were talking about NEWTs when something interesting came up… Jamie had just mentioned that he was going to come back from the holidays to a mountain of studying, given that he had five NEWTs he needed to at least pass, and he hoped get at least E’s in all of them… and several O’s, in order to smooth his way into Auror training. That was when the interesting thing happened.

“Oh, well don’t worry about that, love.” Dan piped up, “I can cover you for studying. No problem.”

“What do you mean by that?” Jamie asked.

“Well, I’ve got a line of some stuff that can keep you going, you know…”

“Oh, really…. Well, does it really help? I mean, aren’t you knocked out the next day or something?”

“Oh no, it’s great. No problems like that at all.”

“Oh, okay, well… if I need it…” Jamie left the door open. He wondered what it was. Whatever it was, it definitely explained the conversations with the Ravenclaws. No matter how much those kids loved studying, they loved being the smartest even more. The opportunity to one up one another would be almost irresistible to a lot of them.

At that moment, Vic, Emma, Kris Jenkins and Jenny Martin and came in to complete their little merry group. Jamie had tried to drag Michael Creevey out with him, but he had a date with Susan, and he was the only person Jamie knew who was good natured enough to be willing to spend even part of an evening with the company Jamie was keeping lately. Jamie checked himself, Jenny Martin was perfectly nice, but Kris was kind of a twit, and well… Vic and Emma just weren’t his type

Eventually, he was able to beg off with the perfectly valid excuse that he needed to perform some big brotherly duties, specifically, he needed to meet up with his little sister to make sure that she got back to her common room before 10:30 that evening. She’d been given a special dispensation to join the birthday dinner Albus had organized for Scorpius, but they were all under strict orders not to let Lily get away with anything that night.

“Well, your loss… of course, maybe you could get yourself a kiss from the birthday boy.” Dan threw out as Jamie was about to leave. That stopped Jamie a bit, did he know anything?… No, that was ridiculous. Dan was just being Dan.

“Very cute, Dan.”

“I mean it… but if you come up empty, I’d be happy to give it a go.”

It was all Jamie could do to keep himself from visibly cringing as he thought, _‘and then he’ll be the last thing you touch.’_

After that exchange, Jamie was especially happy to be leaving the Hogshead for better company.

When Jamie arrived at the Three Broomsticks a few minutes later it was actually fairly quiet. He assumed the subdued atmosphere was due in part to the fact that 5th and 7th year students were starting to buckle down studying for their looming exams, and in part to the reality that the end of term usually meant students were sadly short on funds. Jamie’d missed the dinner part of the evening that had been held in the adjoining restaurant, but was glad to at least get to the latter part of the night in the pub.

He looked around the room and saw their group around a couple of tables in the corner. Then, when he saw Scorpius his actually skipped a beat. He shook his head at himself, thinking back a month to an afternoon he spent in the library trying very hard not to think of Scorpius, and in particular not to be thinking of him like some kind of fawning third-year. But, here he was again, looking at Scorpius, and having decidedly besotted third-year feelings. He would have been embarrassed for himself it it wasn’t weirdly enjoyable.

So, Jamie stood there for a while letting the pleasure of watching Scorpius wash over him. He just glowed over there in the corner. He hadn’t cut his hair for the entire semester, and now it was getting shaggy all over and a bit long in the front. Someone, Lily he guessed, had pulled a section of it back and braided it so that it didn’t hang in his eyes, and Jamie thought it made him look like a delicate Viking… or maybe a Norse God… okay, maybe a demi-god. In any case, he looked amazing. He wanted to run his hands through it endlessly. And his skin…

He was knocked from behind by someone entering the pub, and decided he better stop staring, grab a drink, and move over to the table. It was already 9:00, so he didn’t have a lot of time before he had to get Lily back to the castle. When he got to the table, Rose, who had been sitting next to Scorpius got up.

“Oh,” she said, “Good timing. I’m just going to grab another butterbeer and say ‘hi’ to Delia and Sam over there. Why don’t you take my seat?” Then she gave Jamie an odd look that he could have sworn was slightly conspiratorial.

“Sure, thanks.” He shuffled in and sat down, realizing that he was close enough that he could actually slide his left hand behind Scorpius’ waist without being noticed and still drink with his right. Scorpius turned to look at him. Merlin, his lips looked good.

“Thanks for coming” Scorpius was talking, but Jamie was having trouble doing anything other than staring in his eyes. He thought he must be ridiculously transparent, but when he looked around, pretty much everyone was lost in conversation.

“Oh, sure, glad I could make it,” he tried to sound nonchalant. “How was dinner?”

“Great. Al and Phoebe lined everything up. It was really… great… How was your evening?”

“Okay. The food at the Hogshead is… well, you’ve been there… but I did actually have an interesting conversation with Dan.”

“Oh, you’ll have to tell me about it.” Scorpius reached across the table and pulled back the remnants of a cake. “In the meantime… cake?”

Scorpius grabbed a fork and started to make a move toward the cake, and for a second Jamie thought Scorpius might try to feed him. Then a half-smile broke on his lips and he handed the fork over to Jamie.

“Gotcha there…”

Jamie looked away, biting his lip. Now it wasn’t the cake he wanted a taste of.


	2. Happy Birthday Scorpius!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's only three days between Saturday night and Tuesday, but Scorpius is really impatient for his birthday... which turns out to be a pretty good day.

Sunday afternoon, 4:30 PM: Scorpius was tapping the end of his quill against the table and trying to keep his mind on his studies, but in truth his mind was elsewhere. That elsewhere was the same elsewhere it had been more or less non-stop for the past six days, Jamie Potter. For some reason Scorpius had thought that once something had happened with Jamie, mainly that they had gotten together instead of living in the same confused limbo he’d been in for the past two months, he’d be more settled. It turns out the opposite was true, and now he couldn’t think about anything but Jamie. If he didn’t get a hold of his mind he might end up with E’s instead of O’s on his practice OWLs. He didn’t even want to think about explaining that to his father. Explaining Jamie was going to be hard enough.

He stretched his arms, looked around, and tried to find something else to think about. It didn’t help that in every direction he spotted a location where he and Jamie had engaged in some kind of secret rendezvous over the previous week. So he decided to restrict his eye wandering to his table, but Phoebe and Albus had started some kind of mock jousting with their quills instead of focusing on their work. It was adorable, and that also reminded him of Jamie. Merlin’s beard, this was getting frustrating. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could sit there and pretend to be studying.

Fortunately, that’s when Phoebe stood up, “Oh, I have to run! I told Aishah I’d meet her in the Potions lab.” She gave Albus a quick peck and then she was off in a flurry of parchment and books.

Albus looked over at Scorpius who had returned to mindlessly tapping his quill on the table. “Do you want to get going, too? I need a break.”

“Yes, definitely.” Scorpius answered with relief.

They bid their goodbyes to Yann, Philippa and Carlos who had also been sharing their study table, and took off in the direction of the Slytherin dungeon.

“Last night was fun, huh?” Albus asked

“Yeah, I had a great time. Thank’s so much for organizing that. Really, It was great, and the cake was amazing!”

“I’m glad everyone could make it. I was actually kind of surprised that Carlos was there… I guess you guys are friends now?”

“Yeah… It turns out we’re probably better as friends… You know all that time you thought he was checking me out in class, he wasn’t actually staring at me…”

“What?” Now Albus was turning a little pink.

“Oh, he wasn’t looking at you, either… He was looking at us – you and me. Our auras.” Scorpius continued, “It turns out that we have some kind of connection thing they do when we’re together.” He shook his head and laughed, thinking about their conversation, “So, it turns out he was just curious about us. He wanted to know us. He wasn’t actually interested in me that way in the beginning… I just thought so.”

“No way… well, I guess it worked out then.”

Scorpius laughed, “Yeah, I guess so.”

 

\----^^^^----

 

On Sunday night, Scorpius finally caught sight of Jamie at dinner and noticed that he had carefully managed to grab a seat between Michael Creevey and Ben Abbott, forcing Dan O’Connor to find a seat toward the other end of the table. Although he didn’t want to think of himself as the jealous type, it did make him happy that Jamie was managing to stay out of touching range of Dan… for the most part.

While he was looking over at the Gryffindor table, Jamie caught Scorpius’ eye and gave him a smile. Nothing too big, but it was nice to see. When Scorpius was done with dinner he caught Jamie’s eye again, and Jamie gave him a bit of a nod that he’d catch up with him.

“Hey Albus, I’m going to head out, okay?” Scorpius asked.

Albus took a quick glance across the Hall and noticed Jamie looking in their direction. “Sure thing, I’ll see you later. Chess?”

“Yeah, that sounds fun.”

Scorpius started back toward his dorm, taking the round-about way that he knew Jamie preferred for the lower traffic and higher number of potential hiding spots. As he turned a corner he felt Jamie wrap his arms around him and bury his nose in the curve of his neck.

“I missed you.” Scorpius hummed as he turned to look at Jamie.

“I missed you, too.” Jamie responded, pulling Scorpius into an empty room. “I’ve been busy today, though.” He added with a little mystery.

“Oh?”

“Yes,” now Jamie had a smile growing on his face, “but you’re going to have to wait until Tuesday night to see what it is. Take dinner early and meet me outside the library at 7:30.”

Now, Scorpius was smiling, too. “Birthday surprise?”

“Yeah.” Jamie wiggled his eyebrows. He looked like he couldn’t wait, but Scorpius was pretty sure he would.

“Well, how am I going to pass the time until then?”

“You’ll just have to come up with something… or maybe suffer in silence.”

“I’m pretty sure I can come up with something,” Scorpius answered before leaning in for a kiss.

Jamie pulled Scorpius in tighter and kissed him properly, so that he made that nice little moan he loved so much. He ran his hand up the back of Scorpius’ neck and through his hair, thinking back to how beautiful he looked the night before. As they separated Scorpius made his contented hum, and Jamie smiled.

“Did I tell you yet how great looked last night?”

“No, so you can tell me now…. Tell me again.”

“You did. I really liked your hair.”

“That braid?” Scorpius was a little amused at that “Lily did that, it was falling in my face.”

“I liked it… You looked a little like a Viking.”

Scorpius was starting to break into a little laugh, “A Viking?... You make me sound so powerful. Maybe just an occasional Viking… I don’t really see myself as the pillaging type.”

“Maybe we can change that.”

“Oh, now you’re on a roll, Jamie Potter” As he pulled Jamie back into a kiss, stifling that line of conversation before it became any more ridiculous than it already was.

 

\----^^^^----

 

“For a guy who has a birthday tomorrow, you don’t look very excited,” Rose snapped. “Do I need to modify this pepper-up to put a little additional pep in your step?”

“I’m sorry…. You’re completely right. I think the anticipation is just killing me. I had so much fun on Saturday, and now the wait until tomorrow…”

“You have something particularly exciting planned?” Rose gave him a look.

Scorpius was hoping he wasn’t obviously blushing. Being fair haired was a definite liability when it came to not revealing one’s emotions. “Oh, not really… I’m just looking forward to it.”

“I bet you are.” Rose responded suggestively. “In the meantime, why don’t you occupy yourself with your school work? As your lab partner, I’d really appreciate it.”

Scorpius was actually glad to have this time with Rose, she was easy to work with, hyper-competent, organized, attentive to detail. She was really ideal as a class partner. As they worked he thought about how well she’ll probably do on her exams. She probably didn’t even need to study much, though she undoubtedly would.

“Hey, how’s your studying going?” he asked.

“Oh, pretty good. I’m still keeping pace with my schedule. How about you?”

“Okay. I’ve been a little off my game lately.”

“Well, if you need any help, let me know. You know I’m a whiz when it comes to study planning. I’ve done schedules for half the Ravenclaw 5th years…. I really should be charging for my services, but it’s just so ridiculously easy…” She appeared a little lost in thought, but then continued, “You know, I’m kinda nuts about my exam grades, I’ll admit it, but those Ravenclaws are just full-bore crazy. Some of them have been asking me to schedule them for as little as 3-4 hours of sleep a night over the next few weeks.”

“Are you kidding?” Scorpius stopped stirring.

“Hey, don’t stop, we’ve got 45 more seconds on that!” She flicked his hand. “ Nope, not kidding. I’m not sure how they’re planning to do it, so I pulled together schedules with an opt-in section for the extra hours. I think going on that little sleep is insane.”

“I could never do it. I mean… I like getting up early, but I need my sleep.”

“Yup, you need to preserve your natural beauty…” Rose teased, tickling Scorpius under the chin.

Scorpius rolled his eyes.

 

\----^^^^----

 

Scorpius felt a hand wrap around his arm as he rushed out of Potions to try to make it to the gym by four.

It was Jamie, and he was holding a silver envelope.

“What’s this?” Scorpius asked, inspecting the object in question.

“I realized I hadn’t given you an official invitation for tomorrow yet, and I know how you Malfoys enjoy the social conventions.”

Scorpius made a face and opened the envelope.

In lovely script the note inside read:

 

 _Mr. James Sirius Potter requests the honor of your company, Seven-thirty in the evening,_ _Tuesday, the 23rd_ _of November, outside the Hogwarts library._

 

Scorpius turned to Jamie, “You didn’t have to do this, you know. You have me. I already plan to spend my birthdays with you.”

“Birthdays?” Jamie smiled.

“I think that was a slip of the tongue.”

“Maybe it’s just warming up.” Jamie teased, and then turned to go adding with a flourish. “I will see you tomorrow, then, Scorpius.”

 

\----^^^^----

 

Scorpius was actually excited to be meeting Professor Williams in the gym for his wandless magic work. He really needed something to distract him that wasn’t as easy to ignore as his notes and textbooks. When arrived Williams was already there and was working out with the medicine ball.

“Hi Scorpius, ready to go?”

“Sure, I guess.”

“Okay, how you feeling today?”

“Good, I guess… I don’t know. Maybe a little impatient. Time just feels like it’s moving really slow at the moment.”

“Well, that’s honest… That’s good. I’ll see if we can do a little to clear your head before we get started.” Williams looked around, then suggested, “Why don’t you do a few minutes with the jump rope and some speed bag to loosen yourself up.”

“Will we always warm up this way?” Scorpius wondered how physical wandless magic would be. He had assumed that it wasn’t at all and was kind of wondering what he’d got himself into.

“No, but I’m thinking it might help clear your head.”

“Okay. Actually, that sounds good.”

“Good, I’ll be over on the treadmill.”

Scorpius thought Williams would stop him after about ten minutes, but he let him go on for about 20 which Scorpius appreciated. He hadn’t realized how much he needed that. The exertion felt good and it really had helped to clear out his mind.

When he was just getting good and tired Williams stopped him. “Okay, that’s enough.”

“Now, come sit over here.” He looked like he was collecting his thoughts, then started. “Pull out your wand.”

Scorpius went over to his bag and pulled out his wand. It was a replacement for his initial wand which Delphi broke, and the staff at Ollivander’s was surprised when he went back and a rowan wand with dragon heart string core selected him. His first wand had been cherry with a unicorn hair core, and it was unusual for such a change to take place, but not unheard of … and with all that had happened, there were bound to have been some reverberations through time. That may just have been one of them. Scorpius had to admit that he really actually liked this new wand. The rowan felt warmer in his hand, more comfortable, and he felt more confident with it.

“Okay, why don’t we do something simple…. Summon that bag of chalk from over there.”

Scorpius easily flicked the wand and executed the spell, “ _Accio chalk_ ” and the bag flew over to him and landed at his feet.

“Great. Now, tell me about that. How’d that feel. Tell me step by step what happened there.”

“I don’t know. I flicked my wand and said the spell.”

“Come on, Scorpius… I mean, think about it. Think about the whole process and tell me what it was. Tell me as if I’ve never cast a spell, as if you’re teaching me.”

“Okay. I cleared my head…”Williams could see Scorpius starting to go into his mind now, reworking the spell as it happened, “then I started to think about the spell. I felt the wand in my hand and thought about casting it, almost like a fishing line. Then, as I said the words I thought about that cast, and the object, and the connection between that object and my wand and my hand, and bringing it to me.”

“That’s better… right… That’s good. The important thing to remember is that the wand is like a transmitter. It doesn’t cast the spell, it just concentrates your thoughts to help you perform more easily, more powerfully. It’s your thoughts that are actually casting the spell. So, although we’re taught that there are spells with intent and some without, the truth is that all spells, all magic requires intent. You must have the intention to cast the spell. The wand won’t cast the spell on it’s own.”

Williams continued, “That’s why, with some mental training, you can learn to focus your thoughts without a wand. Now, you may never be able to perform equal magic without a wand… We just don’t know. Some people will always need the want to help them focus their thoughts, but there are others who are able to eventually perform the same level of magic without wands…. So, you ready to try going wandless?’

“Sure, I guess,” Scorpius shrugged… What was the worst that could happen… probably just nothing.

“Okay, put the wand down, and we’ll try the spell again with the other chalk bag over there.”

Scorpius put the wand down, looked over at the chalk bag and just kind of ordered it “ _Accio chalk_.” Nothing. No movement of any kind. Scorpius wasn’t sure the air even moved.

Williams was rolling his eyes at him. “Really, Malfoy? We just walked through the steps of casting a spell and you did none of them. What year are you in?” He pointed over to the bag, “Okay, try it again, but follow the steps – you need to have a focal point for your spell to cast from, so imagine you’re casting from your fingertips.. .try holding your hand as if you have a wand, but it’s just not there this time.”

“Okay.” Scorpius looked at the bag on the floor about 15 feet away, held his hand as if he was holding his wand… then imagined the connection between his imagined ‘wand’ and the bag. “ _Accio chalk_ ” he incanted.

It moved. Not a lot, but a little. Scorpius turned to Williams with his eyebrows raised, silently asking “was that good?”

“Ah-ha… well, there we go! See, you can do it, then.” Then Williams turned to start picking up his stuff. “So, that’s it for now.”

“Seriously? That’s it? We just started…” Scorpius was confused. They’d spent 20 minutes working out and about 10 minutes on the wandless magic.

“Yup, that’s it for now. You need a lot of practice on this part, and I don’t need to sit around and watch you move a bag six inches at a time. So, here’s your assignment. Keep working on that. Just keep working on really thinking about the process of casting the spell, what you’re doing, how it feels in your mind and body as you do it, and simulating that without your wand. You made a great start, but I have to warn you, it’s probably going to be pretty slow before you get the hang of it. It can take a while to get your mind to believe it can do this without the wand.”… he continued, “That’s why there’s a school of thought that it’s actually potentially harmful to introduce wand-aided magic too early. Witches and Wizards who could be casting without wands get lazy and dependent on their wands and then can’t transition to working without them.”

That actually made some sense to Scorpius, but he also supposed that if they didn’t use wands some kids would unnecessarily be unable to keep up with the work, and they really had enough divisions in the magical world without adding that to the mix.

 

\----^^^^----

 

Scorpius was on his way back to the Dungeon to get ready for dinner and mentally running through the steps of casting spells in his mind when he tripped over something in the hallway. A shoe. Not just a shoe, there was also another shoe, socks, and an entire set of clothing, and it wasn’t just any clothing it was Albus’ clothing. What the hell?

Scorpius looked around. “Albus!” He whispered as loudly as he could. He wasn’t exactly sure why he was whispering, but it seemed appropriate given that Albus was probably not wearing his clothing… unless he’d been carrying around a spare set of clothes this afternoon. “Albus!”

Nothing. He looked at the pile of clothes in his hands. He knew things were going well between Albus and Phoebe, but he didn’t think they were really at the disrobing stage…. And even if they were, he didn’t think they were a disrobing in the hallway type of couple. That just… No. Neither of them seemed the type. So, that couldn’t be it.

Disapparating on Hogwarts grounds was strictly forbidden and theoretically impossible, and in any case, Scorpius was pretty sure that Albus would not disapparate anywhere without his clothing on…. Unless he was trying it out and something went terribly wrong. If that was the case he could be stuck almost anywhere. Scorpius started to laugh as he thought of the ridiculous places Albus could be stuck naked. The Hufflepuff Common Room… Hagrid’s Hut (then again, Hagrid might not notice anything odd about it)… McGonagall’s office… If that happened, Albus might run off and transfer to Durmstrang.

Scorpius looked around again and decided that the only thing he could do at the moment was take Albus’ clothes back to their room, make a sweep of the castle before dinner, and if Al didn’t turn up he’d get Williams involved. This seemed like a potentially ‘Head of House’ responsibility. A few steps further up the corridor he noticed Mrs. Norris the Younger swatting at something under a curtain. He gave the cat a little kick.

“Move along, Norris. Your master wouldn’t want you tearing at the curtains.”

She seemed reluctant to move, so he gave her another nudge with his toe, then realized that she was actually swatting at something. It was a mouse that had wedged itself behind a baseboard in an effort to escape the feline’s paws. He put the clothes down to get a closer look and mouse came running at him and jumped up on his sleeve. He was just about to flick the thing off when he noticed that it was black haired with green eyes.

Crap… it might be Albus.

“Albus.. is that you?” Scorpius was now talking with a mouse which he really hoped was Albus and not random rabid rodent.

The mouse started making little noises and bobbing up and down. He really had no idea if that meant yes, but he figured he better err on the side of transferring a mouse to his dorm room since the alternative was potentially leaving his best friend to be tortured and consumed by Filch’s cat.

“Okay, move up a little so I can grab your clothes, okay?”

The mouse scampered up his sleeve and gripped on to his shoulder. Even if it was Albus, Scorpius wasn’t fond of the idea of having a mouse that close to head. It gave him the willies.

Scorpius was able to get to their room without anyone noticing he had an arm full of someone else’s clothing and a mouse on his shoulder. He tossed the clothing on Albus’ bed and lifted the mouse off, too.

“Okay. You can change back now.” He sat there looking at the mouse who was looking at him. He was now just sitting there staring at a mouse. A mouse that wasn’t moving.. just staring at him and blinking occasionally. Was it concentrating? What does a mouse look like in concentration?

“Okay… Um…. You’re having trouble?” He asked the mouse.

Again, the bobbing up and down. _Shit. Albus might be stuck as a mouse_. That wasn’t good.

“Right… let me pull out the book. There has to be something…”. He pulled his Transfiguration book out from the stack on his desk and started to flip through the pages… “Animagi…. Animagi….” He turned to look at the maybe-Albus-mouse, “How on earth did you manage this? I mean, I know you were getting close on transforming into a dog, but what possessed you?”

It looked like the mouse was starting to flail its feet and throw itself on its side. Was this mouse frustration? Even though he knew he should probably be a little worried, the idea that his friend was stuck as a mouse struck Scorpius as also pretty funny.

“I don’t know… maybe we should leave you like this. It could be handy. I could carry you around in my pocket, and your parents would definitely save money on food and clothing….” Then mousey-Albus got up on his hind legs and started to bang his tail against the bedspread. Scorpius guessed this was mouse anger. He knew he probably should stop taunting mousey-Albus, but he couldn’t help himself from going smidge further, “On the other hand… I think Phoebe might not really want to have a mouse for a boyfriend… and all your parts are probably fairly tiny….” Then he bent down and held his fingers in front of mousey-albus in a near pinch to illustrate how tiny those parts might be… “You know, really tiny…” and mousey-Albus nipped him on the finger.

“Was that a bite?... Albus, I think you bit me!... Okay, I probably deserved that… You’re right, besides, it’s nearly dinner and I don’t want to be at this all night. Let’s hope this isn’t too difficult.” Scorpius scanned through the text, trying to decide what to do next.

“Well, I think you ought to try it again and if you can’t get it going I can try to use the Homorphus Charm on you while you’re trying to undo yourself to see if we can give you a bit of a boost. Does McGonagall know that you’re even capable of multiple animagi? Is she capable of that? I didn’t know that was even possible.” He looked over, and mousey-Albus was looking impatient again.

“Okay – why don’t you try again?”

Scorpius watched, and it looked for a moment, like something might happen. Mousey-Albus got kind of shimmery and looked a little blurry around the edges… but then nothing.

“Okay, let’s try it together…. I hate to say it, but if we can’t get you back, we’re going to have to take you to McGonagall. I’m sure she must have some experience with this… Okay…. just give me a moment to get my mind in place.”

Scorpius pulled out his wand and thought about Albus, and looked at mousey-Albus and thought the two being one with mousey-Albus resolving into real, human Albus. He held his wand out in a strong, commanding position and summoned all the purposeful power he could, “ _Homorphus_!” It looked like it was starting to work, “ _Homorphus_!” he ordered again, and with that the mousey-Albus did soften and blur and then transform into the very solid, but totally naked human Albus. Human Albus grabbed his pillow and covered up his no longer mouse-sized parts immediately.

“What the hell, Scorp! Took you long enough! That wasn’t funny! That horror show of a cat almost ate me! And, that bit about my tiny pieces… Ha! Ha!... Just wait until you’re in a jam…”

“Well, what were you thinking transforming yourself into cat food?”

“You know, I don’t know… it was just a silly idea, I guess….. I was walking back from class and it sort of came over me. I thought to myself ‘I could probably be a mouse.’ I have no idea why…. Then the next moment, I’m thinking mouse, and working the animagi spell, and I’m a mouse… I was nearly buried in my own clothing, for starters. Then, when Norris showed up I was so scared I just couldn’t manage to get myself to go back. I only barely managed to get myself in that nook and away from her nasty claws.”

“Well, let this be a lesson to you, Albus Potter…. only animagi with a buddy from now on.”

Then Albus Potter plunked his best friend on the head.

 

\----^^^^----

 

When Scorpius woke up Tuesday morning he was feeling decidedly more Scorpius-y and chalked it up to getting a little exercise in the gym and the mini-adventure with mousey-Albus the night before. He rolled over, pulled open the drapes of his four-poster and nearly stumbled upon a fairly large present that had been laid right next to his bed.

That’s right… Today was his birthday. Considering he was a guy who had very few friends for the first 14 years of his life, he had a somewhat outsized love of his own birthday… and actually, birthdays in general. He chalked that up to being an only child. His mom always made a huge deal of his birthday, and since she died Albus and his dad had jumped into the gap, doing their best to keep the tradition going. As he looked at the gift he felt it, though, the big void of another birthday being celebrated without her.

He picked up the gift and held it in his hands and tried to return to happy thoughts, focusing instead on how lucky he was to have had a mother who spent so much time making sure he was happy and loved. He took a few deep breaths and tore the gift open. It was from Albus… an Atlas of the Ancient Wizarding World. It was absolutely gorgeous.

He held on to the book and leapt through the curtains on Albus’ bed and on to Albus.

“I love it!” he yelled.

“Argh! Merlin!” Albus screamed with the shock of being landed on by his incredibly grateful, but surprisingly heavy best friend and a hefty atlas.

Scorpius moved so that they lay next to each other in the bed. “I really love it. It’s perfect.”

Albus looked at Scorpius, who was filled with sunshiny joy and knew that there was probably nothing he wouldn’t do for his best friend.

Then, there was a knock on their door, and Scorpius jumped up to answer it. It was Professor Williams.

“Good morning, Scorpius. I hope your day’s off to a good start. This came for you.” he handed him a rolled-up piece of parchment, “And, there’s a rather large package in my library, as well.”

“Albus, get up!” he went and tugged on Albus’ sleeve. “Let’s go see what it is.”

Albus laughed, noticing that Scorpius was so eager to see what the package was he was actually rolling up on to his toes with excitement.

“All right! Let me get my robe on.”

They followed Williams through the Common Room and over to his library, where they saw a very big package. It was a cube which was probably three feet wide, and it was wrapped in luminous blue wrapping paper featuring a repeat pattern of Scorpius’ constellation with an elegant sliver and gold braided ribbon.

Your dad doesn’t go half-way on the gift wrap, does he?

Nope, Scorpius thought, he’s a stickler for appearances.

With the help of both Albus and Professor Williams he was able to open the box and lift out the item inside. It was an antique armillary sphere. Scorpius gasped when they pulled it out of the box.

“Wow,” Albus blurted, “That’s amazing… I feel like our room isn’t nearly nice enough for that.”

 

\----^^^^----

 

After Professor Williams, Albus and Scorpius managed to transfer the sphere to Albus and Scorpius’ room, Scorpius had a chance to pull out the letter from his father.

_Dear Scorpius,_

_I hope you enjoy the gift I sent care of Professor Williams. He promised he would hold it in safekeeping for you until your birthday. Once you see it you will understand why I could not send it directly to you by owl._

_I know that the last twelve months had their ups and downs, but I want you to know that with each passing year I am more and more proud to be your father and more amazed that I have a son who possesses your intelligence, optimism, kindness and courage. I chalk all of that up almost entirely to the influence of your mother, and regret so dearly that she is not here to see the wonderful man you are becoming. I know that she would share my joy and pride._

_I hope that you, Albus, and your friends enjoy a very happy day, and I look forward to seeing you very soon. Have a wonderful birthday, and don’t forget to study tomorrow!_

_With love,_

_Draco L. Malfoy  
Your Father_

 

\----^^^^----

 

The rest of the day actually flew by with owls and cards from all kinds of people including the Potters, the Slytherin quidditch team, Phoebe, Yann and Pillippa, Carlos, Rose and Hugo (who also gave him a box of chocolates from Honeydukes), and Lily (whose card was covered in glitter and featured a Harpies logo). Before he knew it, classes had finished and he was rushing to get to dinner so that he could meet up with Jamie at the appointed time.

At 7:30 Scorpius was standing outside the library and waiting a little nervously which seemed odd to him. Why should he be nervous? Then he realized that in a weird way this was actually his first date with Jamie. He didn’t know what they were doing that evening, but it was going to be just them...at least he thought so. This was the first time he was really going to get to spend time with Jamie that wasn’t with friends or of the five-minute-or-less variety in some corner of the school. His hands were sweating. He hoped he looked okay.

At 7:32 Jamie arrived, beaming and panting a little.

“Sorry I’m late. I was just finishing a couple of things…” he looked at Scorpius and smiled, “Like the hair” he said flicking the braid Scorpius had managed to work into his hair. Then he grabbed Scorpius by the hand. “Come on, we only have until 10 before curfew.”

He pulled Scorpius down the hallway, up a set of stairs, down another hallway, around a corridor and through an archway to a door for a classroom that was definitely tucked away in an underused section of the castle.

“Where are we?” Scorpius asked.

“We’re near the Divination Tower, but this particular hallway isn’t very heavily used. I thought this would be perfect…” Then Jamie opened the door.

It was beautiful... amazing, actually. Jamie had transformed the entire room, and it was filled with streamers and twinkling lights that made it look like a fantastical, and significantly warmer, version of the astronomy tower. Everything was shades of blue and purple with silver lights and accents. Over on one side he’d arranged a table with what looked like a birthday cake, but the candles shot up little stars.

Scorpius was overwhelmed. He just turned to Jamie and hugged him… holding him as tight as he could.

“You like it?” Jamie asked.

“I love it…. I really, really love it.” Scorpius wasn’t sure he ever wanted to let go.

Eventually, Jamie gave a little pull, “You know, if you want some of the cake, you’re going to have to let go.”

“All right, if you insist.”

“Besides,” Jamie added, “you’re going to need your hands for the present.”

Scorpius let go and threw his hands out, “Hand it over, Jamie Potter.”

“Good grief, you’re greedy.” Jamie teased.

“You have no idea how much I love presents.”

“Well, I hope this lives up to the expectation.” Jamie said, handing Scorpius a box.

Scorpius opened it up and pulled out some tissue from the inside. “What is it, a crystal ball?”

“No…” Jamie laughed, “take it out.”

When Scorpius tipped the ball out into his hand he realized it was the top of a snow globe that had silver and white snow glitter and a white swan on a lake against a dark blue background.

“It’s my Patronus.”

“With falling stars… I saw it when I was in Hogsmeade on Saturday, and it gave me the idea….”

Jamie couldn’t get any further than that before Scorpius covered Jamie’s mouth with his own, nearly devouring Jamie with kisses and pushing him up against the wall. Then Jamie just melted. He put his arms up around Scorpius’ neck and filtered his fingers through Scorpius’ hair. It was just so soft and smooth… and kissing him… his breath was so soft and sweet.. and his skin. Jamie let his hands fall to Scorpius’ shoulders and then drew his fingers down around his collarbone. He wanted to touch more of him. All of him.

He began to unbutton Scorpius’ shirt. First the top button, then the next, and the next, working his fingers down until the top of Scorpius’ chest was exposed. He pushed Scorpius away a little to take a look as he ran his fingertips over Scorpius’ nipples. They were so light, nearly the same color as his skin. He looked up, and Scorpius’ silvery blue-grey eyes were looking directly into his. They were warm and silky looking and Jamie wanted to sink into them.

While Jamie loosened Scorpius’ shirt, Scorpius ran his fingers along Jamie’s waistband, sipping his hands up under Jamie’s shirt and up his back. Scorpius wasn’t sure he ever felt this good. It was as if every part of him wanted every part of Jamie. He’d never felt this completely aware of every part of his own body. When he looked at Jamie he saw his want and filling that was all he wanted to do.

He leaned forward to kiss Jamie again, and released his arms so that Jamie could slide his shirt off of them. Now Jamie was running his hands down his bare arms and around his stomach. His fingers began to work down, and Scorpius could feel them tickle at the skin just below his navel.

He groaned with pleasure and with the promise of pleasure.

“I want to touch you,” Jamie whispered.

“Yes.” Scorpius responded. Single syllables were all he could manage. He was being overtaken by desire, and he was getting hard very quickly. Jamie started undoing his button and Scorpius helped him. Then he placed his hands on the wall by Jamie’s shoulders and watched as Jamie slid his hand down the front of his pants. He felt Jamie run his fingers down the shaft of his cock, stroking the tip with his index finger. It felt so incredibly good. Jamie reached down again, further, and curled his fingers around Scorpius’ balls. Scorpius pushed himself into Jamie, wanting more. He let out another moan, this one deeper sounding, and heard Jamie make a breathy hum in response.

He began kissing Jamie again, and Jamie’s hand moved up and down his shaft. Scorpius moved his hips to deepen the feeling, working with him, wanting more. Jamie’s mouth and tongue yielded his his, and he kissed him deeper and deeper as their movements became more and more intense.

He felt Jamie move his hands and looked down to see Jamie working his shorts down around his hips, exposing his cock to the light of the room.

“I want to look at you.”

Scorpius couldn’t speak then; he was barely managing his breathing. His chest was just rising and falling as he struggled to maintain his awareness of anything other than the way his body felt.

Jamie looked at Scorpius, taking him in. He was so beautiful. His cock was warm and hard and the most beautiful pink. It was just perfect, and the tangle of soft hair was perfectly blond. It looked almost like floss candy. Jamie was completely torn. His mouth wanted to badly to taste and touch and tease Scorpius’ beautiful cock, but his eyes wanted to watch Scorpius’ face as he came. The eyes won, this time.

He began to stroke Scorpius again and felt the friction increasing.

“Are you okay? I brought some lube.”

Scorpius broke into a smile… “Planning to have your way with me?”

Jamie just smiled back, admitting nothing.

“Where is it?”

“Over in my bag, over there.” Jamie nodded his head in the direction, not releasing Scorpius, but slowing his movements, using his fingertips to gently tickle Scorpius and tease his tip. Jamie didn’t really want to move, and his hands and lips completely betrayed him.

“Wait… let me see if I can get it.” Scorpius really could think of only one thing; how great it would probably feel to have Jamie’s slick, warm hands on him. He wanted that feeling very badly. If wandless magic was going to do him any good at all, this was the time.

He held out his hand in the direction of the bag, looked over at it and wanted that lube very much. He thought to himself that if singularity of purpose was required, he had that in spades. With his mind he felt the tube working its way out of the pocket of the bag and arriving in his hand. “ _Accio lube_ ” he commanded.

And it happened… It flew across the room and hit Jamie in the arm. He was barely able to catch it before it fell to the floor. Both Jamie and Scorpius started laughing in surprise.

“We are never telling Williams that my first wandless accio was for lube.” Scorpius warned Jamie through his laughter… “ _Just never._ ”

“So this was your first time?”

“My first time.” Scorpius smiled a slightly sly smile.

Jamie let out a full laugh then, and Scorpius looked up to see the crinkles he loved so much form in the corners of Jamie's eyes. As Jamie warmed the lube in his hands, Scorpius traced those beautiful crinkly lines with the tips of his fingers. “I love the way your eyes do this. These little crinkles. It was one of the first things I noticed about you.”

“Really?” He looked at Scorpius and leaned forward to give him a kiss and tease his tongue, “Well, I quite fancy your tongue. I love the way you curl it up on your lip when you’re reading or concentrating. You don’t even seem to notice it, you’re so deep in thought… it’s adorable.”

Scorpius licked his lips as he thought about that, and gave himself over when Jamie began kissing him. He moaned in pleasure at the touch of Jamie’s slick hand, which began gliding up and down his cock again, his fingers working around the shaft and over his tip. It was fantastic. Scorpius began thrusting deeper into Jamie’s grip, bracing himself against the wall. He could feel Jamie’s other hand behind him, exploring him…fingers trailing up into his crack. It was tantalizing.

He was so close now. He pushed harder and harder into Jamie, and Jamie moved his other hand, sliding it under Scorpius to cup his balls and join the rhythm of the hand working his shaft. Scorpius was leaning further into Jamie until their foreheads and noses were nearly touching, and he let himself fall completely into the sensation. He felt everything building. He knew he was starting to come. He opened his eyes and backed away about so that he could look at Jamie who held his gaze. He kept looking at him, holding his breath, feeling like he was sharing everything with Jamie, every sensation; the tightening and pulsing of his orgasm as it built. Then he closed his eyes and let it happen, the deep groan of pleasure followed by release as he came. He felt himself dissolve as the delicious sensation radiated down the insides of his thighs, to his kneecaps, even his toes, and up around his abdomen and to his shoulders, and Jamie was there, everywhere, a part of everything.

Jamie wrapped his arms around Scorpius, pulling him into his warmth. Then Jamie gently licked his neck and blew a little breath, and Scorpius shuddered and gave a little cry. His skin was so sensitive, as if any touch would cause an explosion of goosebumps all over his body. Jamie pulled back and brought him into a deep, slow kiss. It felt so complete. Scorpius ran his fingers from the hair in Jamie’s temples around to the back of his neck letting his fingers tangle there as they kissed and held each other. He could have stayed like that forever. Just close, and happy, and warm.

After a little while Jamie grabbed his wand and gave them a quick clean, and Scorpius pulled himself back together, drawing a deep breath “That was nice.”

Jamie looked at him “Nice?”

“Okay, better than nice, much better…. but I haven’t had the cake yet, so I don’t want to overstate it. Once I’ve had the cake I’ll know how it compares.”

For that, Jamie nipped Scorpius on the ear. Then they got slices of cake and settled in on the couch. Scorpius pulled close to Jamie and Jamie wrapped his arms around Scorpius as he tried to reach his fork to his plate. Eventually he gave up and let Scorpius feed him off his plate.

“I love chocolate cake… My Grandma Weasley always made us chocolate cake for our birthdays.”

“That must have been fun, growing up with so many kids around.” Scorpius thought, comparing what he knew of Jamie and Albus’ childhood with his own, more solitary experience.

“It was, but it was also kind of crazy, too.”

“What was the craziest thing that ever happened?”

“Wow… I don’t know if I can come up with a craziest. There were a lot of crazy stories…”

“Okay, how about a silly scrape, or some kind of sticky situation… I want to know more about what you were like as a kid.”

Jamie thought back. There were so many… “Okay, I don’t know if this was really silly, but it’s something I really remember. When I was about five we were all at the Burrow… It was a summer afternoon, and a bunch of us were playing hide-and-seek. I was the youngest kid playing and I kept getting found…and I really didn’t want to get found again. So, I was really, really eager to find a place to hide that no one would find me….”

Scorpius settled in to watch Jamie talk, curious about what kind of story Jamie would tell about himself as a small child. He had trouble imagining that Jamie was significantly different when he was five, maybe just littler and less able to get in really bad scrapes.

“So, when Teddy started counting down I ran straight to my Grandad Weasley’s garage, the exact opposite direction of everyone else who were all going to hid in the orchard or the summerhouse or somewhere like that. When I got there I couldn’t figure out where to hide. Nothing really seemed all that good, but then I noticed a big dustbin. It was really big, like the size of an oil barrel. I could definitely fit in there, but I wasn’t sure how I’d get inside. Then I realized I could probably jump into the bin if I lept off the car.”

Scorpius noticed that as Jamie got further into recounting the events he became very animated, seeming to both mime and tell the story at the same time.

  
“So I climbed up on top of the car and took a big leap. Luckily, there was nothing but a pile of rags in there, or I could have impaled myself.” Jamie continued “Well, I had really nestled down in there, and I waited and waited and waited… and then waited and waited and waited… and it seemed a really long time. After a while I thought they must have stopped playing the game, so I stood up. That’s when I realized I had no way to get out. I was totally stuck.”

“What did you do?”

“Well,” Jamie laughed, “I was a little panicked, but mostly about potentially missing dinner because Grandma was making roast beef with Yorkshire puds, which are my favorite, and I didn’t want to be late to the table and either get ones that didn’t have good wells, because that’s key to holding a good amount of gravy, or not get any at all. When you have a lot of cousins you learn early that you need to get your dinner helpings first. So, I yelled for a little bit, but no one came.”

“After a while, I just sat back down in the pile and waited while my stomach growled. Eventually, I heard someone outside the garage, and started screaming again. It was Teddy, and he came in and got me, but not before threatening to not take me out of the bin for being such a prat and getting him in trouble… apparently, he was supposed to have been watching me…”

“I was a total mess, covered in oil and grime, but when he delivered me to my mom she couldn’t stop hugging me… but she was angry, too. I wasn’t really sure if she wanted to squeeze me to death or yell at me… probably both.”

“How long were you gone?”

“I’m not sure. It must have been a couple of hours. I’m sure my parents must have been worried that something had happened. They were always so careful with wards and such after the war, but even so… I know they worried about us… that something could happen.”

Scorpius thought about that, how frightened Mrs. Potter must have been, “I once scared my mother like that.”

“I’m guessing you didn’t jump into a vat of oily rags, though…”

“No, but I did go missing… I was probably closer to six and I sneaked down to the library to find something new to read after my bedtime. All of the sudden I heard something. I didn’t want to get caught where I wasn’t supposed to be. My mother was pretty forgiving about those kinds of things, but my Grandmother Narcissa who was also living with us then was not, and I wasn’t sure who it might be. You did not want to be the subject of my grandmother’s disapproval. She has the gaze of Medusa.”

“So, I climbed into one of the cupboards beneath the shelves and closed the door behind me. After a little while the sound went away, but when I tried to open the door I realized the it had locked behind me. I couldn’t get out. I really didn’t want to get caught, and I wasn’t sure who’d even hear me at that hour, so I just resigned myself to sleeping in there.”

“All night? When they find you?”

“The next morning… When I didn’t come down for breakfast, they went to find me and realized I wasn’t in my room. That’s when my mother got really worried. They had to sweep the entire Manor. I think it took them more than an hour to find me. Just like you, I’m sure my parents had moments when they thought the worst. That was back when everything was still so raw, and my Dad and Grandmother had both been Death Eaters…. They were always afraid.”

Jamie nodded. They were from two families on the exact opposite side of that war, but both of them suffered some of the same consequences.

Then he laughed a little, “Well, it’s probably indicative of something that I was stuck in a pile of dirty rags and you were trapped in the library. Personally, I can’t believe that wasn’t the first place they looked.”

“I’d only just started reading. I’m sure if it were a couple of years later they would have found me much more quickly.” Scorpius smiled and took another forkful of cake. Then he looked down at the couch, “So, where’d you get the couch? I assume it wasn’t in the room.”

“I brought it from the library. I just did a little reducio so I could get it up here.”

Scorpius smiled. “Well, if you went to all that effort I think we should make better use of it.” Then he pulled Jamie into a kiss. “I think you’re better than the cake… but, then again, the cake is pretty good…”

“Give me a few minutes, I’m pretty sure I can make my case.” Jamie promised.

 

\----^^^^----

 

Before they knew it, it was already past nine-thirty, and if they wanted to get back to their houses before curfew they needed to leave. Scorpius didn’t want to watch all of Jamie’s work vanish into thin air, so he took the snow globe and stood outside while Jamie used an _evenasco_ to remove all the decorations. Just a couple of moments later, Jamie walked into the hallway with a box of leftover cake and a plan to return first thing the next morning for the couch.

As they walked back toward the Slytherin dungeon, Jamie took Scorpius’ hand in his. Scorpius gave him a look, “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

“Yes. Definitely.” Jamie looked around and then at Scorpius, “Screw Dan O’Connor. I don’t want to not be with you… I just want to be with you. I don’t want to sneak around. I thought I could do it, but whatever I might get from Dan… it’s just not nearly as important…”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. In fact, since I’m not screwing around like an idiot any longer… Do you think you’d like to go to the Yule Ball with me?”

“Definitely. Absolutely. I would.”

Then a big smile broke out on Scorpius’ face as Jamie pulled him in to a big, fat, sloppy, smiley kiss in the middle of the hallway, not worrying at all at who might see them. Apparently, their secret rendezvous were a thing of the past.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think future chapters won't feature cake, but clearly I have it on the brain. Then again what's not to like about chocolate anything?


	3. Everyone's Checking Someone Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Looming exams are starting to take their toll. Everyone seems to be watching someone, several Hogwarts students are starting to get suspicious, and sometimes things aren't as they appear.

When Scorpius got to the Slytherin Common Room, Albus was just cleaning up after a game of Bloody Bones with Yann.

“Hey,” Albus called out. “Hang on, and I’ll walk back with you. I have to get back to studying, anyway.”

“Sounds good…” then Scorpius motioned to the box somewhat suggestively, “I’ve got cake.”

“That seals it. Come on.”

They walked in silence for a moment, then once they were out of earshot of the other students Albus asked, “So, how’d it go?”

Scorpius couldn’t help himself from smiling, but didn’t want to look like too much of an idiot. “It was good. Really good. Thanks.”

“I’m glad. You know I think my brother’s kind of a git, but he did seem to work himself into a bit of a state trying to get that right. You have no idea how many questions he asked. It was getting more than annoying.”

Scorpius put down the snow globe and box of cake on his desk, rummaging around the drawers for some spare cutlery and a napkin. He finally came up with what he was looking for and handed Albus a piece.

“Here you go… enjoy…”

“This is good. How much do you think he bribed the house elves for this?”

Scorpius shrugged, “Well, things will probably be a little bit quieter for the next few weeks.”

“Um….” Albus nodded in lieu of speaking through a bite, “You’re still ‘super secret’?”

“Actually, I think that’s coming to an end. He asked me to the Ball.”

Albus’ eyebrows shot up. “Really? Well, I guess he couldn’t resist the opportunity to see you all spiffed up in your dress robes.”

Scorpius blushed a little, “Or maybe he just hit a dead end and got tired of waiting around…”

“Maybe, Jamie does have a short attention span sometimes… and, really, how long can anyone spend hanging out with O’Connor…”

“So, have you asked Phoebe?”

“What?”

“To the Ball?”

“Not yet, but I was going to on Saturday…. So, back to your comment… why the slowdown?”

“Oh, just the studying and such. I’m way behind, or at least I feel like I am, and he’s elected to try for three of his NEWTs early.”

Albus shook his head. In the years since the war they’d made a number of changes at Hogwarts, including trying to reduce the level of stress on students. One of those changes was allowing students to take select NEWTs early. If you did well, you could use those marks as final. If you didn’t, you could retake them and have the marks over two exams averaged. Nearly every 7th year elected to get at least one of their exams out of the way early so that the load in the second half of the year wasn’t so unbearable. It was so like Jamie to think he could do three, though… That was a little insane, but his brother never lacked for confidence.

“Well, I guess we’ll be all work all the time for the next couple of weeks, then.”

“Guess so…. Hey, guess what?”

“What?” Albus looked expectantly at Scorpius, wondering what great piece of information Scorpius had uncovered during his studies this time.

“I managed to do a wandless _Accio_.”

“No way… show me.”

“Okay… I’ll see if I can do it again.” Scorpius looked around the room for something soft and small, just in case there was a problem. He decided on a sock Albus had tossed in a corner. “Okay, I’ll go for that sock.” He looked at it and really tried to picture it moving from the floor to his hand; really tried to get the feel in his mind of the spell working from his hand to the sock and back. “ _Accio sock_.”

The sock hit him in the face.

Albus started laughing. “Sorry, I mean, it’s amazing, but I can see why you chose the sock.”

“Yeah, still need to work out the kinks, but it’s working… Speaking of working out the kinks, did you mention your Animagus attempt to McGonagall?”

Albus looked a little sheepish, “No… didn’t get a chance.”

“You should, Albus. It’s amazing, what you can do. You need to tell her so that you can see what you’re really capable of…. And she can help you. I know she’d want to. The sun rises and sets around you in her eyes… you must know that.”

“I’m sure that’s just because of my dad… anyway… I will, tomorrow. I promise.”

“Okay. Well, we should probably crack the books… We can probably squeeze in close to an hour before we need to get to bed.” Scorpius cleared off his desk, and pulled out his Charms text, working through the next chapter on his list. He looked over at Albus who was deep in his Herbology text. He wondered if Albus either didn’t understand how astounding his gifts were, or was just nervous about people knowing how gifted he was. The funny thing is that people already were drawn to Albus and he just didn’t know it… and it wasn’t because he was Harry Potter’s son, either. It was simply because he was Albus. He had something extraordinary, and the fact that he didn’t know it made it all the more amazing.

 

\----^^^^----

 

When Albus and Scorpius arrived at breakfast on Wednesday morning, Jamie was already there and just finishing up. As they sat down at their table, he slid in beside Scorpius to say hello.

“Good morning. You sleep well last night?”

“I did, actually, and you?”

“I did. I had some very pleasant dreams which I hope won’t turn into distracting daydreams. I have a ton of studying to do. Are you going to the library after class?”

“I have to stop by the gym to work with Williams again this afternoon. Mondays and Wednesdays are our schedule.”

“Oh,” Jamie gave a secretive smile, which Scorpius returned, and Albus wondered what that was about. “Well, dinner then?”

“Yes. Dinner.”

Then Jamie gave Scorpius a quick kiss on the cheek and turned to head off to his morning classes. Scorpius looked around to see if Dan O’Connor was around, and noticed he wasn’t… come to think of it, Dan was very rarely at breakfast lately. When he finished his visual loop around the room, he looked across the table and noticed Yann and Carlos staring at Albus and him.

“So, he’s with your brother now?” Yann asked looking at Albus and motioning at Scorpius.

“Seems that way.” Albus answered.

Scorpius looked at the two of them, and saw Carlos shaking his head with a smile that kind of surprised him.

“It was only a matter of time…” Carlos sighed in amusement.

“You saw this coming?” Scorpius asked.

“A mile away… You’re pretty easy to read.”

“You’re a very curious person, Carlos Zabini.” Scorpius laughed

“I know… but, you’re just going to have to live with it because we’re going to be late for class.”

 

\----^^^^----

 

Jamie arrived early in Potions that morning with a couple of questions for Professor Singh. After getting the help he needed he waited at his desk and dove further into his text. These NEWTs were going to be the death of him or at least cause some serious damage. It was going to be a rough few weeks until the end of the semester.

Someone jabbed him in the ribs. He looked up to see that Dan had slipped into the seat next to him.

“Morning Potter. You’ve been mysteriously absent the past few days at the library. You know you can’t count on your natural charm and good looks to get you through these tests.”

“Tell me about it. Like an idiot, I decided to sit for three this term, and they are completely kicking my ass. Muggle Studies should be a no-brainer, that class is a bit of a joke, and I’m pretty strong in Charms, but Potions is just killing me.”

“I know what you mean. I’m just going for History of Magic and Muggle Studies, and it’ll be touch and go. I’ll be happy if I can squeeze out A’s in the two.”

“I really need E’s or better on all of mine… Auror requirements...”

“You were born into the wrong family, Potter. All I need to do is not embarrass my dad and I’m in the family business.” As Michael Creevey arrived to take his seat, Dan finished, “Anyway, I might have something that’ll help you out. I’ll catch you later.”

“What was that?” Michael asked after Dan had moved to his own seat on the other side of the room.

“You know… Dan” Jamie shrugged.

“Yeah… I can’t decide if his fawning obsequiousness is going to be an asset for him in the hotel business or if he’s just too transparent.”

“Maybe a help. If you don’t actually know him, it’s not as annoying… maybe?”

“So I take it you’re cooling things off with him?” Michael asked.

“We were never really warm to begin with… I was just kind of humoring him.” Jamie answered.

Michael laughed, “If you weren’t my friend I’d find that answer incredibly obnoxious. Anyway, you joining study group this afternoon?”

“Yup, it’s on my calendar.” Jamie whispered as Professor Singh began class.

“Good, we’ll be at our regular spot.”

 

\----^^^^----

 

By the time 4 PM rolled around, Scorpius was genuinely excited to be seeing Professor Williams and to demo his wandless _Accio_. It was challenging, but he felt like he was getting steadily better at it, having tested it a little during the day with his quills and parchment, and at lunch with a napkin and a salt shaker while no one was looking.

“Hey Scorpius, good afternoon.” Professor Williams called out as he strode into the gym.

“Hi, Sir.” Scorpius answered, “You seem more upbeat than usual today.”

“I am… I am…” the professor nodded, “I had good classes today. Your class is really coming along with the defensive spells. Almost everyone seems to be mastering Emancipare. But, the best news is that my daughter, Zora, is going to be able to come over to England after Christmas to see me for a quick visit.”

“Oh.” Scorpius replied, “I didn’t know you had family… I guess… I didn’t think about it. That’s nice.”

“Yes, it is.”

Scorpius had a million questions now. Not just about Professor Williams’ daughter, but even about him. How old was this kid? Did he have any others? Why was he living here if she was living somewhere far away, like America?

Professor Williams could see he’d kicked of a flood of questions, and quickly went to try to stem the tide, “She’s twenty. She lives in New York. I’m here without her because her mother and I are divorced, and now that she’s an adult with her own job it wasn’t as important that I stay in New York for her.”

“I’m pretty easy to read, huh?” Scorpius concluded.

“Yeah, but I kind of threw you for a loop. Most people don’t think about their teachers having families unless they already know them or their kids. When Zora was in school I taught there, so everyone knew she was my kid and vice-versa, but now there’s really no reason for you to know much about me.”

That was true, Scorpius realized. In truth, he didn’t know much at all about Professor Williams other than that he seemed to know his dad, based on their level of friendliness when Scorpius had been injured last month at the gym. He should probably try to figure out a bit more about the guy. His brain was running away with him when Williams interrupted again,

“Hey, enough of that… Let’s get started. How you feeling today?”

“Good. I’ve started to get my _Accio_ working somewhat decently…. I’ve been able to do it a few times.”

“Great. Why don’t you try the bag again, then?”

Scorpius scanned around looking for the chalk bags and saw them over behind a set of weights. They were a little further away and more obstructed this time, but he was fairly certain he could do it. He cleared his mind, got the spell going, had the feel of it and … “ _Accio bag!_ ”

The bag shook loose of its spot and landed at Scorpius’ feet.

“Hey, not bad! You weren’t kidding.”

“Yeah, I think I’m getting the feel of it. Of course, I’ve been careful to work on small or light items. I’ve hit myself in the face a few times with socks and napkins.”

Williams laughed, knowing what that process looked like. Socks and napkins were probably a good idea. He once had a student give themselves a concussion trying to _Accio_ a large platter of cookies. It no doubt seemed like a good idea at the time, but getting hit in the head by a three pound piece of china barreling through the air at full speed did not result in a sweet ending.

“Well, now that you’re getting that, you need to slowly keep working on it, moving up to slightly larger, heavier, and more difficult to retrieve items. You’ll want to start working on some things you can’t see but know to be present.” He instructed, “You know, things in bags or in adjacent rooms, etc…”

Then Wiliams went on, “However, since you’ll have several days before we meet again, let’s try another spell to add some variety. How about a _Windgardium Leviosa_?... Since the bag’s here, why don’t you start with that?”

So, Scorpius went through the same routine they’d done on Monday. Starting with the wand to get the feel of the spell and then moving to wandless and trying to replicate the spell. He was able to get the bag to levitate for a short period of time, but he could see how this was going to be a bit more of a challenge. He needed to sustain his concentration longer than he had for the Accio if he wanted to really hold and manipulate the object during levitation.

After about 30 minutes he was pretty mentally drained, and Williams noticed.

“Maybe that’s enough for today. You want to work out a little before you head back?”

“Yes, actually, that would be great. Do you mind?”

“No, not at all... You know, it’s a pretty nice evening. You want to go for a run?”

“A run?” This idea was foreign to Scorpius. Wizards and Witches didn’t do much running. They flew during sports like quidditch… but run when they weren’t being chased? That was a new and odd idea.

Williams laughed, “I see that’s not in your normal repertoire. Muggles do it to keep in shape for sport, and just for health in general. It’s good. You’ll see. It really helps improve your stamina.”

That was something Scorpius thought he could use help with, knowing how much studying he had coming up in the next several months. Getting good marks on his OWLs was paramount if he wanted to go on to advanced studies after Hogwarts, which he definitely did. If Scorpius had his way, he’d go to school forever… or live in the library.

“Okay then… Williams looked at Scorpius. He was wearing athletic clothing since they had established that they might be working out at the gym, but his shoes weren’t right. Wizards didn’t wear muggle-like athletic shoes for sport. Their shoes were more like boxing shoes. They didn’t need much of a sole since they were rarely running long distances. “Hummm…. What size shoe do you wear?”

“About a nine,” Scorpius answered.

“All right, I’ll see what I can come up with.” Then he grabbed his wand and “ _Provisio Running Shoes_!”

After a couple of minutes, a box landed right by the door that led out toward the quidditch pitch. Scorpius and Williams went to retrieve it. “That’s kind of cool. Where’d they come from?”

“They should be from the shop in Hogsmeade. That’s where I summoned them from. It’s really one of the only places I know locally that has this kind of material. I’ll have to send them an owl tomorrow to have them put on my account.”

Scorpius looked at Williams. He really didn’t know what to make of the man. Seriously, he’d just summoned a pair of shoes out of a store in Hogsmeade and to Hogwarts? Whatever their provenance, they fit pretty well, so Scorpius laced them up and followed Williams out onto the grounds.

Once they were outside, Williams just took off at a slow run. He did a quick lumos charm so that they weren’t running in the dark and led the way. Scorpius was glad that they weren’t running too quickly so that he could manage to maintain his breathing. It wasn’t too hard, but it wasn’t too easy, either. Williams ran them down to the lake and around it a bit and then back up to the gym via the pitch. All in all, it took about 20 minutes.

“How are you feeling?”

“Okay,” Scorpius panted.

“You did pretty well for your first time jogging.”

“Jogging?”

“Yes, that’s what the muggles call it, it’s a slow kind of run they do.”

“Interesting. It’s kind of a strange habit, but it also feels kind of good in a way.” Scorpius thought out loud.

“I know… Watch out. It’s addicting.”

“What do you want me to do with the shoes?” Scorpius asked

“Oh, you can keep them. Consider them a birthday gift.”

“I can’t, really. That’s just not… I should reimburse you.”

“I’ll think about it. Maybe I’ll take it up with your dad.”

“Okay. I’ll talk with him, too…. Thanks again. I’ll catch you later.”

“Sure, and if you want, I jog every day in the morning… I head out around 6. You could try to bring Albus.”

Scorpius laughed at that as he turned to head to the shower. Clearly, Williams was an unrestrained optimist or he hadn’t realized how much Albus was not a morning person.

 

\----^^^^----

 

While Scorpius was working on his wandless magic and being introduced to the joy of muggle running, Jamie had settled down in the library with his Potions study group to try to get a handle on some of the advanced potions which were likely to be on the NEWT exam. He was incredibly lucky he was good friends with Michael Creevey because Michael was easily one of the most gifted potions students the school had seen in a while. He had been first in his year every year since 2nd, and was obviously the favorite of Professor Singh.

As they were working on the properties of draughts, Jamie noticed Dan motioning to him from a row of books nearby. To avoid having him come over and harass the whole table, Jamie got up to go see what he wanted.

“Thought I’d catch you here,” Dan said, “You weren’t kidding when you said you were really hitting the books.”

“Nope, we’ve got less than three weeks ‘till the end of term, and just two until we have to sit those NEWTs. Why aren’t you doing the same?”

“Oh, I will later. I do better at night… after dinner.”

Jamie shrugged, “So, what’d you want?” he asked, eager to get back to his group.

“I brought you these. Thought you looked like you could use them.” He dropped a small number of pills in Jamie’s hand. Jamie thought there were probably a half dozen there.

“Thanks… What’ll these do?”

“Just take one about an hour or so before you think you’ll need a pick-me up. Should keep you going for another 4-6 hours…. But don’t be an idiot…. probably no more than two per night. You don’t want to get stuck in the “on” position, you know.”

“What the hell happens then?” Jamie asked… although thinking back to how jumpy he’d seen Dan a few weeks ago in the gym that day, maybe he knew.

“Nothing good…. Just don’t do it. You won’t be happy with the result.”

“Thanks… What do I owe you?”

“Nothing, it’s on me…. I’m sure you’ll find a way to pay me back.”

“Ummm, sure…” Jamie responded, wondering what Dan might be expecting. “Anyway, thanks again… I better get back to my group.”

“See you later” Dan winked at Jamie.

“Sure.”

When Jamie sat back down at the study table he had an idea. “Hey, Michael, when do you have Potions Lab hours booked next?”

“Saturday afternoon, why?”

“I have something I wanted to get your advice on. Mind if I stop by?”

“Sure thing. I’ll be there from 1-4.”

“Thanks.”

 

\----^^^^----

 

Rose Weasley-Granger was developing a knack for being at interesting places at interesting times, and it turned out that Wednesday afternoon in the library was one of those times. What was that she saw Dan O’Connor dropping in her cousin Jamie’s hand? To her admittedly untrained eyes, they looked suspiciously like some kind of pill… yet, she didn’t recall Jamie having any health issues lately. He didn’t seem to have developed a cold, or the sniffles, or even a touch of laryngitis, and if he had she was relatively sure he would have gone to see Victoire in the infirmary rather than taking pills from a squib like O’Connor.

Once again, Jamie was up to something interesting, and Rose intended to figure out what it was.

 

\----^^^^----

 

It was less than three hours later when Rose’s curiosity was peaked further. As she sat at the Gryffindor table nibbling on her dessert and chatting with Aishah about the latest drama at the _Castle Crier_ she noticed Jamie going over to take a seat at the Slytherin table with Albus and Scorpius. Jamie tucked his arm around Scorpius’ waist and began chatting with him and Albus who was sitting across the table. It all seemed somewhat intimate… Rose knew that something was going on between Jamie and Scorpius, but didn’t realize that they were now officially a couple.

After a few minutes Jamie got up, dragging Scorpius off by the hand to what pretty clearly looked like some kind of couple-y after-dinner activity and Albus got up. Rose assumed he was on his way over to their table to catch up with Phoebe.

However, that wasn’t really the noteworthy part. That part was the expression on Dan O’Connor’s face as the whole thing unfolded. Rose had seen Jamie lolling around with Dan just a couple of weeks ago, or rather she’d seen Dan making an effort to hang on Jamie. In any case, there was definite hanging going on. Now, it seemed Dan wasn’t too pleased that Jamie had moved on to something better… And, Scorpius was definitely something better than Dan, everyone would agree on that.

It was all getting very interesting. Sometimes Rose thought she’d been sorted into the wrong house.

 

\----^^^^----

 

“Professor McGonagall, I have a question for you.” Scorpius asked, looking as innocent as he could manage knowing he was about to push his very best friend into a situation he’d been trying to avoid.

“Yes, Mr. Malfoy? What is that?” She asked, peering over her glasses.

“If a person transforms into an Animagus and has trouble transforming back... Are there any tricks for that?”

“Have you had such an issue Mr. Malfoy?” She asked looking at him, and then looking at Albus, who she knew was already working on ….

“Well, I have not, but I was interested from an academic standpoint. I assume this kind of thing could be on our OWLs?”

She smiled a thin, knowing smile at Scorpius, “Well, I don’t know that it would, but if you are having this trouble, you need to try to clear your mind and use the same sort of effort you used to enact your initial Animagus transformation.” She then turned more broadly to the class, “Becoming an Animagus is a very challenging transformation and one can become stressed and disoriented once in the new form.” She then turned to look at Albus, “It is very important that you work with an experienced witch or wizard as you undertake this particular training so that you don’t put yourself into a dangerous situation.”

Albus turned and looked at Scorpius with the most scornful look he could muster, which wasn’t overly scornful as Albus wasn’t an overly scornful person.

“I love you Albus, but I gave you a day.” Scorpius confessed with a sigh, “You know you were never going to tell McGonagall about your episode as a mouse…. And you know that you’re never really going to be able to do everything you can if you don’t get her helping you.”

Albus knew Scorpius was right. He just sometimes so badly wanted to do things on his own, just to prove that he could, even though he knew he’d be better off working with someone else. He had no idea where that stubbornness came from, but he assumed it was probably genetic.

Of course, Professor McGonagall pulled him over after class, “Mr. Potter, do you have a moment?” she intoned, and Albus made his way up to her desk giving Scorpius a look that said, you may as well go have lunch because this could be a while.

“Yes, Professor.”

“So, do you have something to tell me?” She waited, watching him as he looked down at his hands. She just had this unnerving way of making him feel like a very small child. He wondered if Uncle Nev still felt that way even though he taught here now.

“Well, um…” he stammered and stumbled, “A couple of days ago I kinda, sorta, turned myself into a mouse… and I don’t know if I would have been able to get back, but Scorpius found me and helped me, I think…”

“I see, and how did the two of you manage this feat?”

“Well, I tried really hard to work back to being me, and Scorpius used a _Homorphus_  charm at the same time, and we were able to get me back.” He said, watching her raise her eyebrows at him.

“Well, that is fortunate. Whatever possessed you to try becoming a mouse when you’ve been working, with some success, at transforming into a dog?”

“I really don’t know. I just kinda’ thought I could at the time…” He realized how silly this sounded, that he might just be walking down the hallway and think to himself ‘ _I could be a mouse_ ’ and then be one, but that was actually how it had happened.

“Well, that is something. You are very fortunate that Scorpius came along when he did….” She started when Albus interrupted her.

“I know! I was just about to be dinner for Mrs. Norris TY when he came along.”

“I can imagine,” she resumed, “Nevertheless, we should really get you started on some work specifically to help you master this skill. You may be one of the very few wizards ever able to accomplish multiple Animagi. It’s extraordinarily rare. Being able to become Animagus itself is not common, but to be able to transform into more than one animal is really something.” She looked at him very intently, “It really is quite remarkable, Albus.”

And then he thought to himself that it actually was. That he actually might be pretty unusual… remarkable even, and that thought was very unusual and remarkable, too.

 

\----^^^^----

 

By Saturday the entirety of 5th and 7th year looked as barren and dying as a Devil’s Snare caught in the sun: wilted, wan, and shriveled. They were really letting themselves go, and there were still more than ten days before exams started, and nearly three weeks until they were all over and the school celebrated the end of term. Scorpius looked around and wondered how they’d all make it, and how the staff would tolerate the growing fog of teenaged funk that was hanging like a noxious haze around them all. His father would be truly repulsed.

Scorpius was doing his best to stay fresh and upbeat. He knew his best chance at excellence was not only being prepared, but also being mentally nimble enough to meet whatever challenge the OWLs threw at him. He’d even given in and gone ‘jogging’ with Professor Williams the day before. It was less unpleasant than the last time; in fact, it was actually more pleasant. Maybe the muggles were on to something with that. It still seemed odd to be running around Hogwarts with no particular aim other than to run.

“Okay then, I’m taking off for the greenhouses,” Albus broke Scorpius’ thoughts. “I’ll see you this afternoon in the library?”

“Yup, see you then.” Scorpius was heading straight to the library after breakfast to get in some work on Arthirthromancy and History of Magic. He thought that Albus must have really been trying to ensure a good mark in Herbology if he was forgoing even an hour down with Hagrid and his creatures. Or, maybe he was hatching something for the big “ask.” Today was the day that Albus was going to officially ask Phoebe to be his date to the ball. It seemed like a foregone conclusion, but girls did like that romantic touch.

Scorpius decided to stop by the Gryffindor table to check in with Rose, who was part of his Arthromancy study group, and to say hi to Jamie. When he got there, Aishah was at full pitch about some story she was working on for the _Crier_.

“I know that the leadership at this school will say that they’ve made adjustments to help manage student stress, but if they would actually look at the condition of the students...” She was lecturing.

“Yes, but it’s not as if they experienced any different, and they survived.” Rose countered.

“That’s hardly a valid argument. Less than twenty years ago house elves were enslaved, and that changed.”

“She’s got you there,” Jamie called over, “Using your own mother against you, Rose. It’s a good move.” He nodded approvingly at Aishah.

“Thank you,” she called back, “It’s just not right. Students are endangering their health. This can’t be the objective of a modern Wizarding education, can it?”

Rose answered, “Look, I’ll grant you it’s not ideal, but I think you’d be less on edge if you were getting more sleep.”

“Are you saying I’m _mentally compromised_?” She glared back. Scorpius thought that perhaps Rose had made a tactical error there. Now Aishah was not going to back down, “Because I’ll tell you, it is not safe… people are making unhealthy choices!”

That perked Rose up, “Oh? How’s that?”

“It’s just… look at them. They’re not well. I’m not sure what they’re up to, but whether it’s lack of sleep, or poor nutrition, or stress… it’s not good.”

Rose looked around and thought that Aishah was right, the students did not look good. However, she had a feeling that Aishah was missing something critical as to why.

While Rose considered what Aishah might be missing, Scorpius made his way toward Jamie.

“Hey there.”

“Hey. Good morning.” Jamie answered with one of his smiles that made Scorpius think pleasant thoughts. “You heading toward the library?”

“If I can collect Rose. We’re supposed to be reviewing Arithromancy together.”

“Well, it looks like she and Aishah have cooled a bit. Those two like to go at each other, but eventually they do settle. I’d hate to think what they’d be like as enemies.”

“Let’s hope we never find out. I’ll see you later?”

“Yeah, how about a break around 10, 10:30?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Scorpius made his way back down toward Rose’s end of the table to pick her up, bidding goodbye to Aishah who was still clearly on a mission with respect to student health and safety.

 

\----^^^^----

 

About three hours later, Scorpius was sorely in need of a break when Jamie strolled by to collect him for their break.

“What do you say to some flying?” Jamie suggested.

“I think that sounds fantastic. I could really use some fresh air about now.”

“Great – let’s go.”

In just a few minutes they’d collected their brooms and had met up at the pitch, ready to go. Jamie brought a practice quaffle and snitch so that they’d have something to work at while they flew.

“I know you usually play beater, but let’s just have some fun, huh?”

“Sounds good.” Scorpius answered.

For the better part of an hour they dove and rose, twisted, spun, turned and dipped as they competed to make shots, defend the goals and run at the snitch. It felt fantastic to lean into the broom and build speed, working to outpace Jamie who really was fantastic on the broom. There were points when Scorpius could have sworn Jamie’d grown wings, but it was just the movement of his robes rippling behind him as he flew. Eventually they both stopped counting points because that wasn’t the point of the exercise anyway.

“You know, you’re really good up there,” Jamie said when they finally landed.

“Thanks.”

“You should think about trying for chaser next year.”

“I like being a beater, though. It’s a little more physical, and I like defending our turf.”

Jamie looked at him sideways, “Who would have guessed? Scorpius Malfoy’s a tough guy.”

“I don’t know if I think of it as tough, just backing up my mates.”

“Well, I hope I’m always on your side.” Jamie smiled.

“Play your cards right and you will be.”

When they got in the locker room, Scorpius changed out of his clothes and grabbed at towel to head for the showers. He noticed Jamie kind of hanging behind.

“You coming?” He smiled what he hoped was a somewhat appealing smile.

“In a moment” Jamie answered.

What was he waiting for? No one was there but the two of them. This was a perfect time for them to have some fun, and he knew Jamie liked that. They both liked that.

Scorpius walked back over to Jamie. “Hey, are you okay? You hurt?”

Jamie looked at him, with a look which might have been confusion “No, I’m fine.. I’m just going to be a minute.”

Okay, this definitely was weird.

“Jamie, what is it?”… Scorpius racked his brain. Why… Was he hurt? Did he not want to fool around? Was he having second thoughts? Nothing up to now indicated anything even remotely like that… “Is something wrong?”

“No… well… “ He was really trying to avoid saying whatever it was he didn’t want to say.

Scorpius sat down next to Jamie. “Are you… worried about me… or…”

Jamie stretched out his legs and started shaking them a little with what was definitely nervous energy. “No… It’s… It’s so completely crazy… You’re going to laugh…. I mean, it’s just totally irrational…”

Now Scorpius was actually getting a bit worried. “I’m not going to laugh.” he said, trying to sound as trustworthy as possible.

“Okay… you’re never going to believe it, but… I’ve never been been… you know… completely… with someone I'm dating... it’s always been… dark…”

Scorpius was dumbfounded. So dumbfounded he nearly laughed out loud considering he thought it might be something really serious. Jamie was nervous about Scorpius seeing him naked? How was that even possible? With all the people he dated? All of them? It just didn’t even remotely seem possible. Everyone knew Jamie’d been with dozens of people…

“But…” Scorpius began, trying to figure out how to ask the very obvious question.

“I mean, it’s not like I haven’t fooled around. I have, I mean… a lot. All that’s true… but it was always pretty much someplace dark, or you know, at night, in a room, or the bed, or something. You’ve seen all the places… and I’ve never actually been with anyone for more than two or three weeks, anyway. You can’t date as many people as I have without going through them pretty quickly.”

Scorpius was trying to make sense of all of this. Jamie had been around, and snogged a lot of people, but was he saying he’d not actually done all that much himself? …Or, at least that his reputation was heavily embellished?

“But, you’re the one who wanted me the other night. I mean….”

“Yeah… I… Merlin, Scorpius, you are …. I just really wanted to look at you…”

Scorpius was nearly unable to speak then. He just looked down at his hands trying to find the words, and then looked back up at Jamie, his eyes peeking up through his lashes and a bright smile breaking out on his face as he turned his face up. “Well, you’re going to have to do this sooner or later, and If I have to be the first, then so be it. I’ll take one on behalf of the school even though you’ve spared nearly every other student thus far….” Then he got up and tossed Jamie a towel, “Come on… Besides, at least you can say you’ve done it, then.”

Jamie rolled his eyes, there was never going to be a thing he said to Scorpius that wasn’t going to come back and bite him the ass one way or another.

As Jamie followed Scorpius to the shower, Scorpius turned to look back, “Hurry up Potter…” then Scorpius held his hand out like he was casting a spell and called out “ _Accio Jamie._ ”

“Hey, I felt that!... I’m not kidding... I actually felt it.”

Scorpius laughed, “Well, you’d better do as I say then… I’m going to be a pretty powerful Wizard someday.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only a little cake this time...


	4. End of Term Drama

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's only two weeks left before everyone gets to go home for the holidays... but what a two weeks they are. Practice OWLs, early NEWTs, and the Ball. It's a lot of stress and drama... and at the end someone might be in serious trouble.

Jamie opened the door to the potions lab to find Michael working intently over a large cauldron. Despite the fact that they were nearing exams there were only a couple of other students in the room, and they were busy working on their own projects and didn’t even bother to look up as Jamie walked over to Michael’s work station.

“Hey there, what’s this?” He asked.

“I’m doing the last cycle on some Skele-grow. I’ve been working on some adaptations to try to make it less painful and more rapid. We’ll see how it goes.”

“How are you going to test it?” Jamie asked.

“Well, I was planning to hang out at the quidditch pitch until someone fell off a broom.” He said with complete seriousness, then retracted, “Nah, Singh has some animal cadavers we can use to see if it works. Then we’re working with the staff at St. Mungo’s to recruit some trial participants.”

Michael leaned over to look into the cauldron and give it another stir over the heating source. “It’s just about ready to put into the curing closet for another couple of hours. Then it should be ready.” He looked at Jamie, “So, what did you want help with?”

“Well…” he pulled his hand out of his pocket and opened it to reveal five small green pills, “these, actually. Is here any way you could determine what’s in these and if there’s anything that could cause problems?”

“Sure, probably, but what are they?”

“They’re something that seems to be going around. I’m not sure, but I think some of the students are taking them to try to get a study advantage or something. I’m just worried that they might be harmful.”

“Why haven’t you taken them to McGonagall, or something?”

“Well, I didn’t want to disrupt the entire exam season if they’re really just placebos or something. People are stressed enough as it is without putting the administration on high alert.”

“True enough. It’s possible that they’re nothing, or that it’s just a little short-term stimulant…” He looked at them, “I can run some tests. It’ll probably take a few days though… And, could you get any more?”

“Probably, is this not enough?”

“Well, if I had about a half dozen more, I could really cover the spectrum of harmful ingredients that might be in them.’

“I’ll see what I can do. When do you have hours next?”

“Thursday.”

“Great, I’ll be here, too, so I can get them to you then.”

“Sounds good. Hey, are you going to the Ball?”

“Yes. I invited Scorpius.”

“Oh, you did?” Michael smiled. “So, I guess that’s still happening, huh?”

“Yes, still happening.” Jamie smiled and actually blushed a little. When it came to Scorpius he just couldn’t seem to stop himself from reacting this way, and he wasn’t getting used to it, either.

Michael laughed a little, noticing Jamie’s color, “Are you blushing, Potter?”

Jamie ignored him, “Are you and Susan going?”

“Of course…. So, back to you… What will you be wearing to escort Mr. Malfoy?” Michael asked, taking the opportunity to tease Jamie.

“I have dress robes. I’ll wear those, I guess.”

“Well, you better look good, because my guess is that your date will. He doesn’t seem like the type who just pulls something wrinkled out of the wardrobe.”

“That’s true. He’ll probably look great… I’d better take a look at mine and make sure it’s at least presentable.”

“You’d better…” Michael took his cauldron off the heat to let it cool a little before he put it away to cure.

“Anyway, thanks again. “

“See you… and say ‘Hi’ to Scorpius for me.” Michael teased as Jamie left.

\----^^^^-----

While Jamie was lining up some help in the Potions lab, Scorpius returned to the library for some afternoon studying. History of Magic and Magical Languages were on the schedule for today. When he sat down at the table, he noticed that Aishah was there and had taken up her crusade regarding student wellness again… or perhaps she hadn’t stopped since the morning.

“Am I the only one who finds this at all disconcerting?” She asked while the students near her tried to bury their heads in their notes and books. “Shouldn’t the administration be held to account for the precarious health of students?’

Although everyone really liked Aishah, it seemed as if she was starting to wear on the other students, and Scorpius wasn’t sure how much longer they were all going to hold out before snapping.

Luckily, Albus spoke up. “You know, you’re right. This is a very serious issue, but I’m not sure that even if they wanted to, the Administration could do much to improve the wellbeing of students this exam season. Why don’t you do some kind of article on practical things that students can do to ensure their wellness during exams? You could probably interview a few professors and some students for ideas. At least you’d be providing some tangible help now…” He looked over at Scorpius. “You could interview Professor Williams. He has Scorpius up and running at six in the morning to improve his stamina and reduce stress.”

Aishah looked at Albus, “That’s a great idea! The next edition comes out on Wednesday, so I’ll have a couple of days to pull the article together… Of course, I can also add in something about needing to address the larger issue… but, putting it in the context of useful tips is a really great idea.”

Then, she turned to Scorpius, “Do you mind if I interview you?”

Scorpius was a little on the spot then, but he agreed, “Sure, I guess that’s fine… You can come running with us on Monday morning, too, if you want. I’m sure Williams won’t mind.”

“Oh,” Aishah thought for a moment, “No, I don’t think I really need to do that….”

“Okay, but the offer’s open. Just let me know” Scorpius said giving his warmest and most inviting looking Scorpius smile.

Albus tried to conceal a laugh.

Aishah went on with the idea, “And, I could interview Professor Ghazali, I’m sure he has some ideas about mindfulness and attention, and maybe Madam Pomfrey… or do you think your Cousin Victoire?” She looked back at Albus who was starting to wear an expression that said ‘what have I done?’

“Sure,” Albus said… “I’m sure Victoire would be happy to talk with you. I’m sure she has some ideas…”

Scorpius and Albus looked at each other and shook their heads, turning to their books as Aishah scribbled purposefully in her notebook, hashing out an outline for her next article.

\----^^^^----

On Monday Jamie Potter was on a mission to get to Dan so that he could scare up some additional pills. They only shared two classes, Potions and Muggle Studies, and in both cases Dan arrived late and was the first person out the door. Jamie wasn’t sure when he was actually going to be able to grab a private moment with the guy. It was only a few weeks ago that he was having trouble physically removing Dan from his person, and now he couldn’t buy a minute alone in his company. Jamie cautioned himself to be careful what he wished for. Dealing with Dan hadn’t been a pleasant experience….

By four in the afternoon Jamie was camped out in the library, cramming for Muggle Studies, wondering if he was ever going to be able to find the guy, and cursing his sister for stealing the Marauder’s Map. This was a moment when he really could have used some help. What did Lily need with that thing, anyway?

Then, he caught site of his prey lurking in the stacks a few rows away from his table. He kept an eye on him and when he was a little closer, Jamie strolled casually over to his location.

“Hey, Dan… Getting comfortable in the library?”

“You know… exams.” Dan groaned.

Jamie knew Dan was hardly a frequent visitor to this part of the Castle.

“Um.. I was wondering…” Jamie looked at Dan with what he hoped was an obvious ‘I need you to hook me up again’ look.

“Gone through them all ready?” Dan asked, “You’re not overdoing it, are you?”

Dan moved closer to Jamie, wearing a look of concern.

“No, I’m careful… I probably only need about a half-dozen more to get me through the next week or so…”

“Sure, love. I’ll hook you up…. probably take a day or two. There’s a lot of demand for my services.”

Jamie cringed. Really, did the guy have absolutely no tact? The veiled innuendo was just not even remotely…

“Wednesday okay?” Dan continued.

“Sure, that’d be good…”

“Great – I’ll find you” then he smiled his Dan-ish smile and oozed away to another part of the library.

Jamie decided he’d really rather spend an afternoon in a vat of flobberworms than more than a few minutes with Dan O’Connor.

\-----^^^^-----

While Jamie was intercepting Dan, Scorpius was working on wandless magic with Professor Williams. It was slow going and surprisingly mentally taxing. He could see now that most of the work consisted of slowly breaking down a spell or charm he already knew how to execute and then working it back up piece by piece without the use of the wand. They’d been working at his _Wingardium_ for a full 30 minutes and he’d managed to levitate a chalk bag for a grand total of two minutes, maximum. Scorpius wondered how he had enough time in his life to practice enough to get good at this.

His doubt must have been showing on his face because about ten seconds after that thought ran through his mind Williams said, “I know it seems like a very slow process, but it actually won’t be. There will be an inflection point where your mind flips and you start to be able to do this without so much mental attention. It’s not that much different from building the muscle memory in your body. You just need to build up the pathway so that your mind can get there. Think of the work you’re doing now as clearing the brush from the path. Once you do that, if you keep using that path it stays clear naturally.”

Scorpius sighed, “It’s not that I don’t believe you… I’m just…”

“Tired?” Professor Williams finished. “I understand. Exams are a lot of work…. Oh, did I tell you, your friend Aishah came to interview me this afternoon.”

“Oh, I should have warned you…” Scorpius apologized.

“Don’t worry. It was fine. I invited her to go running with us, but I don’t think she’s going to bite.”

“I’m not surprised. I invited her too, and she didn’t seem that enthusiastic when I proposed it.” He laughed.

“Well, you’re always welcome to bring friends.”

“I might do that…” Scorpius thought to himself.

“You think Albus will come?”

“Oh, no.. Albus is NOT a morning person. I can barely get him out of bed for things he loves doing. He’s not getting up early for anything he doesn’t love…. But, Carlos or Jamie might want to.”

“You’ve been seeing a bit of Jamie Potter lately, haven’t you?” Williams asked.

Scorpius nodded.

“How’s that going?”

“Do you mean between me and Jamie?” Scorpius wasn’t sure how he’d answer that for his Head of House and professor. Things were actually going pretty well on that front, given they seemed to find to regularly hang out including having breakfast and dinner together nearly every day.

“Actually, I was thinking more about how it was going with you and Albus. Is that okay?”

“Seems to be. I think he’s happy for me, but I don’t want to drag him into things that shouldn’t be his problem. Hopefully, that won’t happen.”

“Well, I’m not sure that can ever really be avoided. Relationships are like that, but you can make sure Albus knows where he stands with you. You know, make sure you don’t disappear on him.”

Scorpius thought about that. He didn’t think he was disappearing on Albus, but he could see how that could happen. He never wanted Albus to feel that way, like he’d abandoned him or something. He made a mental note to make sure to plan just Albus and Scorpius things.

“Well, it’s about time to pack up. I’ll see you tomorrow morning?” Williams asked.

“You will…” Scorpius paused for a moment, “Do you mind if we suspend these sessions until we get back next term. I have a lot of studying to do over the next couple of weeks….”

“I understand. Definitely, we can put this on hold. Why don’t you plan to keep working on your _Accio_ and _Wingardium_ over the month as well as _DEscondido_  and _Lumos_ and see how those go?”

“Sounds good.” Scorpius answered, “And thanks again, really.”

“My pleasure.” Williams answered, and seemed to really mean it.

When Scorpius walked into the Slytherin Common Room about fifteen minutes later, he was in a pretty good mood. He was managing to keep with his study schedule for which he gave a quick thanks to Rose, who was the genius behind that plan, and he was only an hour away from dinner with Jamie… and dessert.

He was nearly to the hallway leading back to his room when Karl Jenkins passed by with a sideways comment. “You know Malfoy, no matter who you let snog you, you’re always going to be the kid of a Death Eater, just like the rest of us.”

Did he hear that right? He knew Jenkins was a total asshole, but he thought all that crap was more or less in the past. “Excuse me?” he asked.

“You heard me.” Jenkins turned to look at Scorpius with the most imposing glare he could muster, “Being the current plaything of the Hogwarts’ own ‘Golden Boy’ isn’t exactly going to change who you are. I don’t know who’s more deluded, you or the Potters.”

The Scorpius of the past would probably have just folded up and let Jenkins win, but for some reason he wasn’t going to let this pass. Not just because Jenkins was insulting him, but also because he had insulted Albus and Jamie, and Scorpius was the kind of person who backed up his friends. “You’re an ass, Jenkins. We all know you’re probably going to fail half your OWLs and that your quidditch play was shit this past term. Being a prat to me isn’t going to do anything about that.”

Jenkins was about to take a step forward when Polly Chapman pulled at his sleeve, “Come on Karl, I want to stop by the library before dinner. We need to go.”

“Fine, but don’t come crying to me when he drops you. We don’t belong with them.” Then, he turned and left with Polly.

Scorpius told himself that Karl Jenkins was a total prat. No one had even mentioned the whole “Voldemort’s Son” thing to him in over a year, and he’d pretty much put it all behind him. Even so, he couldn’t help checking out the little smudge that was growing on his arm as he showered changed for dinner. He hoped Victoire was right and that it was nothing… or at least nothing to worry about.

\-----^^^^------

Later that night Scorpius was flipping through the Madam Malkin’s catalog when he had an idea.

“Hey, Albus… We need to get our robes fitted this weekend, right? Why don’t we make an afternoon of it in Hogsmeade, just you and me?”

Albus looked at Scorpius. “Okay, but I promised Phoebe I’d have dinner with her that night. Maybe we can do the afternoon and then I can meet her somewhere for dinner later?”

“That sounds perfect. I’ll see if Jamie’s up for something similar. I feel like we haven’t had much of a chance to just hang out lately… and I like just hanging out with you, you know? It was always just the two of us….”

“I know what you mean. Yeah, let’s do that.”

“Great. Well, we better decide on what we want and get our orders and measurements in tomorrow so they have time to prepare.” Scorpius thumbed through the pages of the catalogue, watching the models demonstrate the features of all manner of formal dress robes. “Have you thought about what you want to wear?”

“Honestly, not at all. Something formal…” He looked at Scorpius. “Would it be awful for me to ask you to choose something? You’re so much better at that kind of thing than I am.”

“Sure, no problem… what’s a best friend for?” Scorpius smiled.

\-----^^^^------

On Wednesday morning Albus watched his brother and Scorpius pay some kind of mock sporting activity with their breakfast cereal and a couple of spoons and wondered how it was possible that these two who were so different in some ways, Jamie being boisterous, outgoing and confident, and Scorpius being bookish, thoughtful and understated, meshed, but they seemed to. It was actually nice they way they rubbed off on each other. He looked over at Phoebe eating with Aishah and Rose at the Gryffindor table and wondered if they looked like that when they were together. It wouldn’t be terrible if they did.

A moment later a flutter of paper rustled through the room, and the Wednesday edition of the _Castle Crier_ was delivered to tables up and down the hall. Albus grabbed one to take a look. The articles were the usual mix of items, including the perennial “Potter Being Scouted by Holyhead Harpies,” which Albus knew to be complete nonsense. His brother was a good player, but not nearly good enough to pay professionally… but that didn’t stop the rumors. People loved the idea of Jamie playing for his mom’s old team.

“Hey,” a hand slapped down a paper next to Albus’ plate. “Did you see it?” It was Aishah.

“Is your article in here?”

“It is, page 5… Not the placement I would have hoped, but it’s there.” She beamed.

Albus flipped through the pages. There is was, “Five Ways to Beat Exam Stresses.”

“Congratulations!” Al offered.

“Well, it’s a little more fluff than I would have hoped, but I was able to put in my point about needing to address the underlying problem of pressures around exams. It’s just not right to have so much of everyone’s futures resting on a few tests. It’s no wonder people are loosing their minds.”

Jamie flipped through the pages to find Aishah’s article, and scanned through it, “You know, it might help, and at least it’s out there. You’re doing something, you know? Most of us just shrug our shoulders and hope for the best…. And you do have this great quote from Scorpius in here…” He gave Scorpius a little smile.

“Huh- huh, and thanks, I guess…” Aishah replied.

“Sure thing, scribbler.”

Aishah blushed a little. “Anyway, thanks again for the idea Albus, and thanks Scorp for suggesting Professor Williams. He was really nice.”

“Any day.”

\------^^^^-----

Jamie checked the time, and it was fifteen minutes later than the last time he checked. He was really starting to hit a wall with studying and wished that Scorpius was around for a study break. Unfortunately, Scorp and Al were over in the Potions Lab trying to prep for their practicals. So, he’d just have to hang on until tomorrow before he got to see Scorp again.

He stretched and looked around the library, wondering where Dan was. The sooner he showed up, the sooner he could collect the pills and be more or less done with this. He wasn’t necessarily looking forward to graduating, in fact he was a little nervous about post-Hogwarts life, but he was going to be very, very happy to leave some of his classmates behind. Seven years is a long time to spend with some people. Of course, leaving Hogwarts would also mean leaving Scorpius behind…. Well, he just wouldn’t think about that yet. They still had more than half a year, including the Ball in a week and a half, if he made it that long and didn’t perish from an exam-induced seizure. He hoped Scorp liked the updates he was having done to his robes. Michael was right, Scorp was going to look great and Jamie didn’t want to let him down.

At about 9:45 Jamie was jolted from a very pleasant daydream involving Scorpius and the showers by Dan’s “psst… psst.. Hey, Potter” coming from a nearby bookshelf.

Jamie looked up and saw the prat leering at him through the stacks.

“Hey, Dan” he walked over to where Dan was lurking.

“Hi… “ Dan reached up and fingered the lapel of Jamie’s school robe.

“So,” Jamie asked, “Were you able to find what I needed?”

Dan cocked his head at Jamie with a teasing look, “I think so…”

“Okay,” Jamie was losing his patience and putting his hand out in the hopes it would spur Dan to get this transaction over with. He was tired and he wanted to finish this up. It was at that moment that Dan suddenly pulled him in to a kiss and dropped the pills in his hand.

Jamie pulled away and pushed Dan to force a little distance. “What was that for?”

“Think of it as payment.”

“I don’t think we have that kind of relationship… If you want payment, I’ll give it to you in sickles or galleons.”

Dan reached up and stroked Jamie on the face, “Oh, Potter, you’re no fun at all.”

Jamie tensed and brushed Dan’s hand away, “So, what do I owe you?”

“Nothing, these are on the house.”

“In that case, I’ll be going.” And Jamie dropped the pills in his pocket, turned on his heel, grabbed his books off the table, and headed directly back for his dorm. Maybe a hot shower was in order.

\-----^^^^-----

Once again, Rose found herself watching the most interesting events play out in the library. She’d been tracking Jamie for the past few days since she saw his initial transaction with Dan, and was surprised at how this evening’s events unfolded. If she had been Jamie, she would have decked Dan O’Connor, but apparently her Cousin had more composure than she. Rose made a mental note not to forget that Dan O’Connor was a despicable person.

\-----^^^^------

Rose wasn’t the only person who’d gotten an eyeful that evening in the library. Ollie Edgecombe was also studying that night in a carrel in the stacks, and from his vantage point the whole episode looked very different…. Very different.

\------^^^^-----

The last two days of classes closed out with a flurry of student questions about what was to be covered on the exams and exasperated instructors, and Scorpius was glad to be moving into the phase of the term where tests and studying were all he had to think about. He’d been joining Williams for his morning run regularly all week, and was enjoying it to a surprising degree. They didn’t talk at all, but getting out of the Castle and into the fresh air every morning was incredibly invigorating. However, he hadn’t been able to convince either Jamie or Carlos… or anyone… to join them as of yet.

On Saturday, Scorpius and Albus set out for Madam Malkin’s on the Hogsmeade High Street for their 4 PM fitting. Scorpius hoped that Albus liked what he had chosen for him and that he didn’t find it too flashy. Albus’ taste was subdued to the point of monkish at times.

When they stepped in the store it was a total zoo. Students were running in and out, grabbing packages with newly altered and pressed robes. Scorpius checked in and they waited to be met by one of the tailors on staff. In less than five minutes they where whisked to the back into a fitting room to be checked for any last alterations.

Scorpius stepped up first, and they pulled out his robe, it was sapphire blue with blue and dark bronze braiding, and Scorpius thought it looked just perfect, “What do you think?” He asked Albus.

“I think it looks great. I think you’re going to seriously outclass my brother, though.”

The tailor looked up, “Oh, I don’t think so. Mr. Potter sent special instructions with his request…” Then he cut himself off. Perhaps that had been a surprise and he’d said too much.

Albus looked at Scorpius with raised eyebrows, “Well, who knew? Seems like you might be rubbing off on him…”

Scorpius tried to suppress his smile, but couldn’t help rolling up on his toes with a little bit of glee.

“You’re going to need to stand still Mr. Malfoy if you want me to get the length right on this. It will just be a moment longer.”

Scorpius looked at Albus with an “oops” face and waited while the tailor marked his hem. Then it was Albus’ turn, and the tailor pulled out his robe. It was dark green with black and silver braiding.

Albus tried it on and Scorpius could see that he liked it because he was standing a little taller. “What do you think?”

“You know I think green’s your best color…. I think Phoebe’s going to love it.”

Albus smiled, “I hope so…. It’s really nice…”

“You’re welcome.” Scorpius smiled.

The tailor stood back and then moved forward again. “It looks like a couple of your measures were off a bit, but nothing to worry about. We’ll have this adjusted for you in no time. This will just take a few minutes.”

“Do you mind if I poke around a little? I’ll just be out front” Scorpius asked.

“Sure, I’ll grab you when we’re done.”

When Scorpius walked out of the fitting room, he passed several other rooms where students were being checked for any last minute adjustments. He was nearly at the end of the hall when he heard a voice that sounded like an agitated Ollie Edgecombe.

“…Come on, are you kidding? What’s the hold up? I’m completely out…”

“Hey, look, I’m doing the best I can. You’re not the only person asking..” said a voice that he recognized as Karl Jenkins.

“That’s just crap. I saw Dan hooking up Jamie Potter just a couple of days ago.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Karl growled.

“Well, maybe if you put out, you’d get some, too.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Karl asked.

“I saw them, Jamie and Dan, snogging in the library. That’s probably why he’s getting priority.”

Karl sneered, “I knew it… that fucking, two-faced hypocrite.”

It sounded like one of them was moving closer to the curtain separating the fitting room from the hallway, so Scorpius made a dash for the showroom up front. His head was swimming. There was no way that Jamie and Dan… that was just ridiculous. Edgecombe must have been making it up, or something, but why Jamie of all people? He knew Jamie had been trying to get information from Dan, but Jamie had also told him that he was done with that. Scorpius felt an unpleasant flush and light-headedness as he tried to think through the sequence of events that would end with Jamie Potter making out with Dan O’Connor in the library.

Luckily, he was interrupted by Albus, who’d finished his fitting.

“Find anything interesting?”

“Nothing I was really looking for.” Scorpius answered.

The arranged to have their robes finished and pressed and delivered to their House by next Thursday afternoon so that they’d have them in plenty of time for the Ball on Saturday. Scorpius was suddenly starting to feel a bit anxious about the whole thing.

“Hey” Albus pulled at Scorpius, “Let’s go over to Flourish & Blotts and see if we can find things for our Christmas lists.”

“That sounds great.” he answered and took a deep breath. Browsing the books would definitely help settle him and get his mind to a better place.

By six o’clock Scorpius was in a much better mood, having spent the last hour loosing himself in everything from Mesopotamian Magic to Early Runic Poetry. There were never going to be enough days in his lifetime to read all the books he fancied. He was just admiring a new edition of Astronomy and Archaeology when he felt an arm encircle his waist…. an arm that was very nicely attached to Jamie.

“Hey there,” he whispered in Scorpius’ ear, “You hungry?”

Scorpius and Jamie had agreed to meet up for an early dinner before they headed back to the Castle for some studying and sleep.

Scorpius slipped around in Jamie’s arms and kissed him lightly, “I think so. What’d you have in mind?”

“Well, if we want to make it quick, how about the Broomsticks?”

“Sure, that sounds great.”

Jamie took his hand, lacing their fingers together, and drew him away from the books and out into the street. It was already dark, but the streets were bright with holiday decorations and shop lights. Scorpius loved Hogsmeade at this time of year. It was so festive and happy. He gave Jamie’s hand a little squeeze as they walked into the pub.

As they ate and chatted he tried not to think about the conversation he overheard earlier. There was just no way that Jamie…. No way. Even so, it kept distracting him, a little voice that was nibbling at the edge of his happiness, telling him that Jamie Potter was never really going to want someone like him as his boyfriend…. Not really.

Eventually, Scorpius just gave in. “So, what ever happened with Dan?” he asked.

“Oh, that…” Jamie started, “Yeah, well, that’s basically wrapped up… probably nothing after all.” Then he shrugged, “Yeah, not really much to say… Why?”

“Oh, no reason, I just wondered. You never really said if anything came of it.”

Jamie looked down at his sandwich and chips and shrugged. “If anything happens, I’ll let you know.”

So, it wasn’t completely done, then. Jamie didn’t really offer much up, though, and Scorpius couldn’t help but feel like he was purposefully holding something back. He just didn’t look like he was being completely honest, and Scorpius wondered if this was what Jamie looked like when he was lying to you.

\-----^^^^-----

Scorpius spent most of exam week with his head buried in notes and texts and feeling every bit ‘Malfoy the Anxious.’ He knew that he’d probably do well on his exams, but that didn’t stop him from worrying about them… and everything. He just seemed to be on high alert all week, and every look and comment seemed to rub him the wrong way.

He also couldn’t stop thinking about Jamie. It didn’t help that he saw him only in passing each day. It made complete sense that they were both completely inaccessible during the week, because if Jamie’s disposition was anything like his own neither of them would have made very good company. Even so, that didn’t keep him from feeling a bit unmoored. He wanted Friday afternoon to come in the very worst way.

\-----^^^^-----

Jamie Potter dropped his quill and closed his examination book. His third NEWT, Muggle Studies, was complete. It was a hellish week after a pretty rough month, but he was confident that he did well on this exam and in Charms, and hoped that he had done well enough in Potions. All in all, the exams had actually gone better than he expected, and he left the examination room that afternoon feeling confident. Now all he had between this moment and his holiday was some quality time with his boyfriend, a Ball and a stop at the Potions lab.

When Jamie’d dropped off the second batch of pills the previous week, Michael had promised to have all his suggested tests complete by this Friday afternoon. True to his word, Michael was in the lab and waiting for Jamie when he arrived.

“So, anything interesting?” Jamie asked.

“Mmmm… I think that depends on what you think ‘interesting’ is.” Michael answered.

“On the upside, these probably won’t kill you or even really harm you unless you overdo it. On the downside, some of what’s in here can have some very nasty and potentially anti-social side effects.”

“Oh?”

“Yup. Most concerningly, there appears to be a derivative of Devil’s Snare in this, it’s a nootropic which can have very strong psychoactive results. For this stuff, if you take it in too high of a dose, or over too long a period of time, it could result in a person becoming their own worst personality traits.” Michael explained.

“How long would that last?”

“Probably short-term, but if you made a regular habit of taking these… and were taking a lot of them… I don’t know. It’s possible it could be permanent.”

“Would there be a way to reverse it?”

“I’m not sure – I’d need to work on it some more. You said Dan had these?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, even if you can’t stand the guy I’d caution him to stop taking them ASAP. He definitely doesn’t need to get stuck with his worst traits.”

Jamie thought about their run-in in the library the previous week. “No, you’re right about that.” Then he thought for a moment. “Can you hang on to all of this? I’m going to set up some time to talk with Uncle Nev and McGonagall about this. Do you mind?”

“Of course not, but everyone’s going to be leaving on Sunday if they’re not already going. I don’t know how you’re going to get on their schedule.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” Jamie hoped.

\-----^^^^-----

The next place Jamie went after the lab was to McGonagall’s office. She, of course, wasn’t there. According to her assistant, Alba Fairley, the Headmistress was still administering the practical examination for those students who had elected to take their Transfiguration NEWTs early. She didn’t expect her back until much later in the afternoon or in the early evening.

Jamie left a message and hoped to catch her before he left for the term. If he didn’t have a chance to talk with her, he figured he’d send and owl so that she’d be able to start thinking about next steps while he was away. Time was slipping away from him and he hoped that nothing would happen, but reassured himself that it was unlikely that students would continue to take the pills now that exams were done since they’d been using them to help with studying.

\------^^^^-----

That night after dinner Jamie dragged Scorpius out for a walk. After a long week, he wanted to get out of the Castle and spend some alone time with Scorpius. Even though the full winter cold of January and February hadn’t set in, the December air had a definite chill, and their words dissolved in puffs as they spoke. They compared notes about their exams, laughed about Albus’ habit of chewing on the end of his quill which sometimes resulted in him swallowing ink, and simply relaxed in one another’s company.

When they’d drifted a little way from the light of the Castle they slowed down under the canopy of a tree, and Jamie snuggled in close to Scorpius, wanting to both be closer and to create a little more warmth between them.

“I’m going to miss you over the holiday.” Jamie tried to push a bit of Scorpius hair out of his eyes, but his gloved hand wasn’t very successful and the strands of blonde fell back over Scorpius’ eyes.

“Me, too… but we’ll see you for Christmas dinner at the Burrow on the 25th. Your family invited Dad and me again this year. And, you’re coming for New Year’s Eve… And, we can find some other times.”

Jamie leaned in for a kiss, slowly tracing Scorpius’ lips with his tongue and feeling the sensation of those lips transforming into a smile. Then Scorpius kissed him back, wrapping his hands around the back of Jamie’s neck to pull him in deeply. Their breath made a foggy, shimmery cloud around their heads.

“Are you going to tell your parents about us?” Scorpius asked.

“Of course…. I’m not sure when, though. I have a feeling they might already have an idea. I have to assume Uncle Nev knows. So, he might have said something.” Jamie thought about it, “I hate making big announcements, you know?”

“I know exactly what you mean. I have no idea how I’m going to tell my dad. Although, last summer when I came out it went a lot easier than I thought…. but then it got weird.”

“That sounds interesting.”

“Interesting, potentially scarring, probably something I’ll be paying a therapist to help me through at some future date… yes.” Scorpius laughed. “In any case, it’s a story I’ll have to tell you sometime when we’re somewhere warm… it’s a long story.”

“That sounds nice…. Someplace warm…” Jamie imagined all kinds of warm places. Sitting by a fire, the sun of a warm beach, snuggled up with Scorpius… it all reminded Jamie how cold he was getting… and tired. It would be so easy to just doze off here, wrapped up with Scorpius.

“Hey,” he heard Scorpius say, “Are you falling asleep?”

“No… You’re just so warm… “

“I think you are. Come on. We should head back inside. We have a long day tomorrow…. packing and then there’s the Ball…” Scorpius started.

“I think you’re going to be pleasantly surprised.” Jamie said.

“I think you could wear house elves’ tatters and I’d be happy.”

“That little? I should think so…”

Scorpius laughed and gave Jamie a teasing spank on his very nice rear end.

\------^^^^-----

Scorpius couldn’t believe it when it was already 5:30 on Saturday. Packing had taken much longer than he expected. He was only going to be away from school for a little over a month, and it felt like he was taking practically everything he owned. Of course, part of the blame could be placed at the feet of his father who’d insisted on taking him to Paris for a week for some pre-Christmas shopping and sightseeing. Paris had been a favorite of his parents, and he knew his father liked to maintain some of those traditions and habits that reminded him of his mother. If Scorpius was completely honest with himself, he did, too. In any case, it meant that he was packing for both the trip to Paris and his holiday at home.

Albus, of course, had been packed for most of the day. He simply used the ‘open the trunk and cram everything in it’ approach to packing. Given that Albus had no aversion to horridly wrinkled clothing, this made perfect sense. It definitely saved time and reduced stress.

Scorpius looked around and realized that Albus was nowhere to be found. He walked out into the common room and found his friend deep in a game of Exploding Snap with some third years.

“Albus… Do you think you want to get ready?”

“Oh, right… It’s… Oh, well… What time are we meeting up?”

“We’re heading over to the Gryffindor House at 6:30” Scorpius reminded him.

“Oh, we have plenty of time.” Albus calculated.

“Albus, I don’t think you want to show up with wet hair…”

In less than 45 minutes, they were both ready and out the door, heading over to the Gryffindor tower to meet up with Jamie and Phoebe. Scorpius had a moment of self-appreciation for the great job he’d done choosing Albus’ robes. He really looked fantastic. And, Scorpius thought, he didn’t look half-bad himself.

When they got to the tower Lily was waiting outside to escort them in. She hadn’t finagled herself an invite to the ball, preferring to get together with her fellow third-years to host a party in the Gryffindor Common Room. Scorpius did not envy Professor Longbottom the job of chaperoning that event. While she waited for the upper year students to clear out she was helping out her brothers by facilitating their date pick-ups.

Jamie was waiting in the Common Room by the time they got there, and was met by a big smile on Scorpius’ face. He’d picked out a new robe, and he watched as Scorpius noticed it was dark bronze detailed with bronze and blue braiding to compliment Scorpius’. The look on Scorpius’ face told Jamie everything he needed to know about his choice. He’d done a good job, a very good job. Thank goodness for the eye of the tailor at Madam Malkin’s, because Jamie was sure he could never have managed on his own.

After a few minutes Phoebe arrived, and she actually looked magical. It wasn’t a word witches and wizards normally used in description, but her dress which was a silvery white accented with flecks of back and green was like a floating fantasy. Lily gasped, and Albus flushed a deep pink when he realized he was openly gaping at his date. He walked over to her and pulled her close so that he could whisper in her ear, “I wish you could wear this forever.”

She laughed “I’m pretty sure I’d have a hard time in the stables in this.”

“It’d be totally worth it. You should never wear anything else.” The he pulled back and looked at her again, “How’d you know… the colors?”

“Scorpius and I worked it out.” She admitted.

“Well, you wanted to look good, and part of looking good is not clashing with your date.” Scorpius smiled. “You look good… together.” Then Scorpius looked at Jamie, “I guess I’m not the only one who knows how to work with the staff at Malkin’s”

“Could have just been a good guess.” Jamie joked.

“Uh-huh…. So, shall we go?” And Scorpius took Jamie’s hand, and Albus took Phoebe’s and they were off.

“Have fun! Don’t do anything stupid.” Lily yelled after them.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence Lulu” Jamie called back.

\------^^^^-----

After the fifth or sixth straight dance, Scorpius was ready for a break. It turned out that Jamie really enjoyed dancing, which Scorpius realized probably shouldn’t have surprised him. In any case, it was actually a little exhausting, and Scorpius needed a breather. They pulled over to the side to catch up with Albus, Phoebe, Yann and Philippa and then Jamie’s friends Michael, Susan, Ben and Lissa. After the tension of exams, it was a great to just dance and laugh and have fun.

“I didn’t realize you liked dancing so much.” Scorpius yelled in Jamie’s ear to be heard over the party.

“I guess so… You make it more fun, though.”

“Oh?” Scorpius didn’t actually think he was a particularly good dancer.

“Yeah, you don’t seem to be thinking about anyone when you dance. It’s fun to watch. It makes me not think about other people, too.” Scorpius looked at him. That kind of made sense, but it was also kind of one of those strange things Jamie said every once in a while.

“Everyone looks great, huh?”

“Yeah, they do… Phoebe looks nice, that’s a great dress… I never really noticed…” Jamie said.

“They do look great together.” Scorpius answered.

Jamie looked at Scorpius thinking they weren’t the only people who looked good. Scorpius, of course, looked fantastic, and the flush he’d worked up dancing only made him look better. Jamie was just getting a rush of those crush-y feelings when he saw Dan O’Connor across the room and realized he’s promised Michael he’d tell Dan to lay off those pills.

“Hey, I’m kind of thirsty. Do you want anything?” He asked Scorpius.

“Sure, and can you bring a cauldron cake, too?” Scorpius asked.

Jamie laughed… Scorpius would never tire of sweets. At least he knew how to soften him up, if he needed to….

He walked past the bar to try to intercept Dan before he got the drinks. Dan kept moving though, and it took him longer than he hoped to weave through the crowd to get close enough to catch his attention. Finally, he was able to grab his sleeve.

“Dan… do you have a moment?” He asked.

Dan’s eyes lit a little, “For you, sure…”

“Can we find somewhere quieter, I’m not sure you can really hear me here.”

“Of course,”

Jamie walked over toward the entrance to the hall where it was a little quieter, but Dan continued out into the hallway. It was even easier to hear there, so Jamie followed him out.

Scorpius realized he really was starting to get thirsty and looked around to see where Jamie was. He figured he’d find him somewhere between the bar and the buffet. As he got closer to the bar he saw Jamie stepping outside the front door of the hall with Dan and had a not very good feeling about it.

He made his way toward the front of the hall and looked around the corner to see if they were out in the hall. They were, standing to the side. Dan had his hands all over Jamie, rubbing up and down his arm and on his waist. And Jamie had his hand on Dan’s shoulder, balancing as he was telling him something… whispering in his ear. Scorpius had a horrible feeling growing in the pit of his stomach and didn’t want to look any more.

He turned around and his head was swimming… What was going on? That looked a bit more friendly than “not much to say.” He could feel himself getting upset. He didn’t want to lose control and do something stupid, so he went to find Albus.

“Al… I’m not feeling very well.. I think I need to go…”

“Okay… Did you tell Jamie?”

Scorpius didn’t answer, he just turned around and left, trying to avoid the route he thought Jamie might try to get back to them, if he even bothered to come back to the dance.

Less than a minute later, Jamie nudged Albus, “Hey, where’s Scorp? He asked for a drink.”

“Oh, I thought he was going to find you… He said he wasn’t feeling well. He wanted to leave.” Jamie looked around, and saw Scorpius’ blond head across the room, walking out a side door to the dance. Jamie put down the glasses and the cake, and went to follow him, hoping like hell what he thought might have happened didn’t happen.

After getting caught in the Hall by the crowd, Jamie wasn’t able to catch Scorpius until he was already just outside the entrance to the Slytherin Dungeon.

“Scorp… wait…”

Scorpius turned, “Why? I’m not feeling well, and you seem to be having fun…”

“Scorp….” Jamie was trying to start, but didn’t know really what to say.

“Really, Jamie? Dan O’Connor?”

Shit… it was what he thought… “I’m a fucking idiot.” Jamie said, both to himself and to Scorpius.

“No, I’m the idiot. I’m a complete and total git for thinking that this wouldn’t happen.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You were never really going to want me… not really… I’m just a plaything, like all the other…”

“No…” Jamie was really upset now, and having trouble talking… his voice was starting to break. “No. Absolutely not.” He tried to start again and tried to move closer to Scorpius.

“Yes. I am, because you are exactly who everyone says you are, and I was just stupid to think you weren’t.” Scorpius’ anger was rising and he was having trouble thinking. He really just wanted Jamie to leave.

“That’s such bullshit, and you know it. I mean, if I believed everything people said about you… I’d still think you were the son of Voldemort… and those people don’t know half of what I know…”

“Is that what you think?” Scorpius was so upset now he was nearly howling in pain and anger. “That I’m tainted and evil?”

“That’s not what I said… Scorp….”

“Go away Jamie!” Scorpius was past hearing anything. He just wanted Jamie to be anywhere else and he wanted to be anywhere else, “Go away. I don’t want to see you. I don’t want you...Just go.”

Then he turned and walked into the Slytherin Dungeon slamming the door behind him.

Jamie was locked out.

He looked around. There was no way for him to get inside without an invitation, and there was no one who was going to let him in. He felt horrible, like someone had just ripped half his skin off. Fucking Dan O’Conner… but mostly Fucking Jamie Potter.

Jamie couldn’t think of anything other than wanting to be alone in his own space. He needed to get back to his room. He walked, unseeing, back in the direction of the Gryffindor tower. On his way back he passed the Great Hall, and who was in the hallway but Dan. Of fucking course he was.

“Hey.” Dan started walking toward Jamie, and Jamie put his hand out.

“No, Dan… not now…” He could barely see, he was in no mood, and he didn’t want Dan anywhere near him.

Dan kept coming forward, “Hey, what’s wrong?” Dan had all kinds of concern in his eyes and Jamie thought he was going to be sick.

When Dan put his hand on Jamie, Jamie just reacted and shoved him off. It was too hard, probably, because Dan stumbled back and hit his head on the stone wall of the hallway hard enough for Jamie to hear it.

“Fucking asshole.” Dan yelled, “You don’t have to be such a git. I was just trying to be nice…”

Jamie didn’t speak. He just kept going until he got to his room. Then he closed his eyes and wished like hell that this wasn’t real.

\------^^^^-----

The next morning Albus woke up to see Scorpius lacing up his shoes to go out for a run.

“You feeling better, then?” Albus asked.

Scorpius didn’t say anything.

“Did Jamie find you?”

Scorpius didn’t say anything.

“Scorpius. What’s wrong…” Albus was worried. This wasn’t normal Scorpius behavior. Scorpius was a morning person. He spoke in the morning. Albus was the one who didn’t speak in the morning.

“Scorp?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Scorpius looked at Albus, and Albus could see that Scorpius hadn’t slept well. His eyes were bloodshot and he looked like hell.

“Oh, shit. What happened? Did something happen?”

“I’m an idiot. Your brother…” Scorpius was still so upset he was having trouble with the words.

“Whatever it is… are you sure? Did you talk to him…?”

“I saw him! I saw him, Albus. With Dan!”

“Dan… Dan O’Connor?” Albus was trying to piece things together, but this was all making absolutely no sense. The last time he’d seen his brother with Dan was at Halloween… more than a month ago…. And Scorpius had said that Jamie had dropped that whole playing around with Dan thing…

“Yes…”

“Maybe you’re wrong. I mean, maybe…”

“No.”

“Maybe…” Albus was struggling for anything to help here… He knew his brother was an idiot, but he also could see how much his brother did really like Scorpius. As stupid as Jamie could be, he just couldn’t believe he was that idiotic. That he would do that…. “Maybe…”

“I saw him, and now it’s done. That’s it…” Scorpius growled.

“But…” Albus tried, not knowing how to stem the tide of hurt and anger growing in his friend.

“No!” And as the word came out of his mouth, Scorpius flicked his hand and the snow globe Jamie gave him jumped from the desk and smashed against the wall.

Albus looked at Scorpius and saw a terrible look in his face, dark and lonely and afraid.

“I need to go. I’m going for a run.” He answered in a cold voice.

Albus watched his friend walk out of the room and didn’t know how to fix this. He looked at the broken snow globe and wondered if he could at least start with that.

\------^^^^-----

Jamie Potter woke up feeling like the entire castle had come down on him. How the hell had this happened? And how had it happened so quickly? One minute he was having a great time, he was happy, really happy, and the next minute Scorpius was slamming the Dungeon door in his face and telling him he never wanted to see him again.

He knew how it happened. It was one of his idiot ideas. He was completely and totally to blame. And now he was looking at a ride home trying to answer Albus, and Merlin, Scorpius at Christmas… and... and, worse than any of that was that he really, really didn’t want this to happen. What he wanted to happen now was for Scorpius to wake up and realize that Jamie would never, not in a million years, cheat on him. Never.

His heart just hurt. His whole body hurt.

And, he was hungry. That’s what finally got him out of bed.

When he dragged himself into the Great Hall for breakfast he sat down next to Michael.

“Merlin, Jamie, you look like shit. What’s happened?”

“I’m an idiot. That’s what.” Jamie mumbled.

“Oh… So, I guess Scorpius…”

Jamie looked up and Michael visibly blanched. Jamie did look like crap. He hadn’t showered. His eyes were red. Michael doubted he’d slept more than an hour the whole night.

“Oh… Shit… Well, as someone who’s actually managed a relationship of more than three weeks, I’d suggest you get your ass in gear and go talk to him and apologize. You apologize even if it wasn’t your fault, but I’m guessing that in your case it was.”

“It was… it is….” Jamie said.

“You really like this guy, huh?” Michael asked, but it was more of a rhetorical question, really.

“I do.”

“Then, you keep trying until he’ll hear you.”

Jamie got up to leave, and Michael added, “Good luck.”

As Jamie was walking out of the hall Albus was walking in. Albus looked at him like he was the most vile, despicable person on Earth. Clearly, he’d spoken with Scorpius.

“Al… It’s not… It’s not at all what he thinks….”

“It really had better not be, Jamie.” Albus growled. “Because if it is, I’ll kill you. I love you, and you’re my brother, but I will kill you.”

“It’s not… It’s really not.” Jamie was having trouble speaking again, and Albus could see he was starting to tear up.

“Shit, Jamie. Look… I don’t know what the hell happened… and knowing you, it could be something really stupid, but you need to make this right.”

“I really need to talk with him.”

“I don’t know if you can right now, but I’ll see if I can do anything. Maybe on the train?”

Jamie nodded and Albus pulled him in for a hug. Albus could feel Jamie all tense and starting to shake and he knew his brother might be about to cry. He’d never seen Jamie like this before, and it really sucked. There had to be a way to work this out… At least Jamie said that he hadn’t actually done what Scorpius thought. There was a little window of hope.

When Albus got back to the room with some food for Scorpius, Scorpius was showered and finishing packing. He looked at Albus and at the somewhat repaired snow globe. It was a little wonky looking, but more or less back in shape.

“I tried, but it turned out a little lopsided.” Albus confessed.

Scorpius looked at him, sat down on his bed, and started to cry. Albus went over and pulled him into his arms and held him close, rubbing Scorpius’ back while he shook and released all the sadness inside. After a few minutes Albus could feel the tension leave Scorpius’ body and Scorpius pulled away, looking at the mess he’d left on his friend’s shirt.

“Albus… I’m sorry…”

“I can change my shirt, Scorp.”

Scorpius sighed, his breathing still staggered and shallow.

“Do you want to talk now?” Albus asked.

Scorpius nodded. “He… I saw him last night with Dan O’Connor… Dan was all over him and Jamie was leaning on him and whispering in his ear… and last week I heard Ollie say that he saw Dan and Jamie snogging in the library.” Albus didn’t say anything, but that little piece of news was new to him. “And Karl Jenkins was right, I was just a plaything… I’m sorry… I know he’s your brother, but…. I was just for fun…”

“Okay, first… Karl Jenkins? Since when do we even come close to listening to what he thinks?” Albus asked.

“He is an idiot, but he was right.”

“No, you think he was right.”

“But Ollie….”

“He said he saw…” Albus corrected… “I know it doesn’t look good… And I know my brother… but I think you need to talk to him. I saw him at breakfast, and Scorpius…” Albus didn’t really know if he should say that Jamie looked like his heart was broken, but that’s how he looked… “He wasn’t just playing with you. I’m sure. I’m really sure…. You need to talk with him.”

“I don’t know if I can.”

“Maybe not right now, but maybe this afternoon? On the train?”

Scorpius shrugged. He wasn’t sure if he’d be up to it later… but maybe. If Albus thought he should, and he thought Jamie really was upset… maybe he could.

\-----^^^^-----

Albus and Scorpius worked their way through the throng of students trying to get on the Express back to Kings Cross. Students and luggage were moving in every direction, and Scorpius just wanted to find a compartment and get settled in.

The two of them walked toward the rear of the train, which was their habit. They preferred to try to find an unoccupied compartment with the hope that they’d have little to no company for their ride. After the week they’d had, Scorpius was really hoping to get some sleep. He was incredibly tired, exhausted, really.

When they settled in, Scorpius laid his head by the window. Of course, the first thing he saw was Jamie trying to wrangle a heard of First Years to make sure they all got on the train, and that no unsuspecting eleven-year-old was left behind at the station. It was one of the few official duties of being Head Boy, you got daycare duty on for a couple of hours each term.

Jamie did look pretty bad. His face was all scruffy and his hair messy. All in all, he actually looked as bad as Scorpius felt. Even so, he seemed to be doing his best to try to be an exemplary “Head Boy,” smiling and chatting with the students as he shepherded them on the train.

“Oh, hey…” Rose peeked in the carriage, “Oh, you look awful, Scorpius. Bad exams?”

“No, he and my brother had a fight.” Albus answered, for which Scorpius shot him a glare.

“Oh…” Rose started to walk away and then swung back around the door corner, “If this has anything to do with Dan and the library, it’s not what you think.”

“Does everyone know about that? Where the hell were they, in the entryway?” Scorpius asked.

“Um, no, they were in the stacks, but it was all Dan. Jamie clearly wasn’t interested. You should know….. Dan’s a… he’s just gross…. Anyway, so, whoever says otherwise either’s lying or didn’t really see.”

“Oh.” Scorpius looked back out the window and Rose continued patrolling the train, doing her Prefect duties.

Before too long, all the students were on the train and it was filling up. Scorpius and Albus ended up sharing a carriage with Yann, Philippa, and her brother Paul. Albus was chatting along with the three of them, and Scorpius was drifting off to sleep with the sway of the train when the door to the compartment slid open. It was Jamie.

“Hey,” he looked at Scorpius. Up close he looked even worse than he’d looked across the platform, if that was possible, “Can we talk for a moment?” He asked Scorpius.

Albus shot Scorpius a look that said, I think you should.

“Okay” Scorpius said as he got up. “Where do you want to go?”

When Scorpius got into the passageway, Jamie looked around and started pulling him along. Eventually, they made their way to the baggage compartment. It was the only place Jamie could think of where they wouldn’t have company or be interrupted.

“This okay?” Jamie asked.

“Sure.”

Then they both stood there for a while, leaning against the cases and bags. Scorpius assumed Jamie was going to go first, so he just waited until Jamie decided he could start.

“It’s not what you think…. No… let me back up.” Then he stopped and started again. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“I’m sorry for everything I’ve done that would make you think that I was fooling around with Dan. That I would do that to you, not just with Dan, but with anyone,” Jamie’s voice was starting to tighten up, “because I would never do that.”

“So, what happened, then?” Scorpius asked.

“Well, he did kiss me, that is true.” He started and saw Scorpius tense up, “I got some pills from him a couple of weeks ago and needed some extras for Michael to run some tests… That’s why I met him in the library that day…. And he just did it. I pushed him off, but he did kiss me, that’s true. Ollie did see that.”

“And, what about last night?”

“Well, last night I went to tell him that he needed to stop taking the pills. Michael got the results back on Friday, and apparently there’s an ingredient in there that can have very bad effects. It can make you the worst version of yourself, it magnifies your worst personality traits. And, I had to get him somewhere where he could hear me… and then he started touching me again, and I was trying to keep him away from me… You must have seen me trying to…”

Scorpius put his hand up to his head and started to shake it as he heard that. For Dan’s sake, he hoped his behavior was the result of the drugs.

“But, why didn’t you just tell me when I asked? You could have just told me…”

“I don’t know. I wish I could give you a better answer, but I think I didn’t want you to worry. Dan had already made a pass at me then, and I didn’t want you to get the wrong idea.”

“So, you kept me in the dark. Because you thought I couldn’t handle it.” Scorpius concluded for him.

“I guess so….. I...”

“I’m not a little kid, Jamie. Albus and me, we’re younger than you, but we’re not kids anymore.” Scorpius was starting to sound upset again.

“I know… I know that… I just... I guess I’m just used to trying to take care of things on my own.”

“Well, don’t.” Scorpius said, and there was something about the way he said it that gave Jamie some hope. It sounded more like ‘don’t to that again’ than ‘don’t do that because it’s not good for you.’

Then Scorpius continued, “You just can’t do that… If we’re going to be a thing. If I’m going to be your boyfriend. Then you’re going to have to tell me things. You can’t keep things to yourself anymore.”

Jamie was nodding, not really being able to speak. He was focused so hard on the most important words he’d heard: ‘if I’m going to be your boyfriend.’ He reached out to take Scorpius’ hand. “I will. I will talk to you and tell you things. I will. Will you..”

“Be your boyfriend?” Scorpius finished.

“Yeah, will you be my boyfriend, then, Scorpius Malfoy?” He smiled a hopeful, scruffy smile and Scorpius couldn't say no, even if he wanted to.

“Yes, Jamie Potter, I’ll be your boyfriend…. And, just so we start again on a clean slate, I’m sorry, too.”

“For what?”

“For believing that you would snog Dan O’Connor in the library and not just asking you about it.”

“You’re right. You really should have..” Jamie was really smiling now.

“But you’re still mostly to blame.” Scorpius stated.

“Right, still really my fault. Okay.” Then he reached out and pulled Scorpius into a kiss, and it was the best kiss Jamie ever remembered having, the very best, because this time he knew what he wanted, and he knew just how much it meant to him.

Scorpius played in Jamie’s hair and stroked the day-old fuzz on his jaw. He liked kissing him with this stubble. It was rough, but also kind of soft at the same time. He hated fighting with Jamie, but he had to admit that the ‘I’m sorry’ kisses were nice. Jamie was holding him so close, like he was afraid he’d physically slip away, and kissing him with repeated, soft kisses, like his lips were some kind of precious artifact that needed to be touched with care.

They continued like that for a while, holding each other close, kissing softly and gently, and looking in each other’s eyes, just happy not to be fighting, to be with each other, close and calm. Then there was an inflection, and suddenly all the emotion of the last day came rushing forward. Scorpius pressed harder into the kiss, his hands dug into Jamie’s neck and shoulder and he felt Jamie pull him in tighter. Their mouths opened, and they went deeper. Their tongues demanding more. Scorpius let out a moan and Jamie did, too, and then Jamie’s hands slipped lower and he was pulling Scorpius in tight and Scorpius could feel himself getting hard. He was pressing himself up against Jamie now, feeling Jamie swelling up, too.

Jamie pulled at Scorpius’ shirt and pushed his hands up under it to get at Scorpius’ skin. At the same time, he moved from kissing Scorpius’ lips to teasing his neck while his hips moved with Scorpius’ movements. Want and need were dancing together inside them, and they let those desires guide everything, their hands, their bodies, their lips, their breath.

“Oh” They heard a surprised voice, and looked over to see Rose who’d stumbled into the car. “Oh” she said again, trying not to look directly at them, but not to look too embarrassed, either… “I’m sorry… I was actually looking for you, Jamie…”

“Okay,” Jamie said as he semi-untangled himself from Scorpius and tried to look somewhat pulled together, “Why?”

“Well, I’m here in a professional capacity… as Prefect, I thought you should know that one of the students failed to make the train.”

“Oh. Who was it?”

“Dan O’Connor. Apparently, he’s MIA. No one’s seen him since last night when you punched him at the dance.”

“You punched him?” Scorpius asked.

“It was more of a shove, actually.” Jamie answered. “It was after we…”

“Oh,” Scorpius said, knowing what he meant.

“So, what now?” Jamie asked.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow - took me a while to get them to the break, but here they are... All comments welcome...


	5. Paris and Pen Pals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scorpius is off to Paris for a week, and that means lots of owls. Plus an unexpected gift.

Monday, December 13, Paris

There was a gentle tapping at the window, and Scorpius turned to see Gawain, Jamie’s owl, at his window. He let him in and carefully undid the roll of parchment he carried. There were two letters inside, one from Albus and one from Jamie. He decided to read Albus’ first.

 

_Scorpius,_

_First, I know it’s only been a couple of hours, but I know Jamie’s going to be sending a letter. So, I figured I’d send one, too._

_Second, I already have interesting news! It turns out that Professor Williams’ daughter is coming to visit him for a little over a week after Christmas, and Dad agreed to let them stay at Grimmauld Place. I think Professor McGonagall asked him if he’d put them up, since we normally aren’t there much unless we’re specifically visiting London. I don’t know much more than that, but maybe we’ll see them._

_Third, my dad and Jamie had some kid of ‘discussion’ about the whole Dan O’Connor thing. I’m not 100% sure what happened, even though I was listening in… just a little... in case there was something interesting. If he didn’t tell you anything in his letter, let me know, and I’ll tell you what I heard, which may or may not be really correct… and we know where that kind of thing can get us, right?_

_Finally, I hope you and your dad are doing okay. He looked a little surprised – and maybe not in a super good way – when Lily yelled out the whole “Scorpius and Jamie are boyfriends now!” thing on the platform at Kings Cross. Guess we should have realized that could happen and come up with a plan to bribe her. Knowing Lily it probably would only have taken some sweets, promises to practice quidditch, or a new Harpies jersey, or something…. Well, I guess you don’t have to figure out when to spring the news, huh?_

_Have fun, and write me back._

_Albus_

\-----

_Scor,_

_Funny, but I don’t even know how to address you in a letter. I hope this is okay. It seemed right, but I guess we’ll see. I’m suddenly… I don’t really know what to write except that I miss you already. Seeing that in print makes me feel like a total and complete idiot. Even so, it’s completely true._

_I don’t know if Albus told you, but McGonagall definitely got the message we sent about Dan, and she seems to have received the message I left for her with Mrs. Fairley, because Dad knew about both of them. We had a little ‘discussion’ when we got home this evening, and he wasn’t thrilled that I didn’t go to either McGonagall or Uncle Nev sooner about the whole thing with Dan (meaning the pills), but I explained to him that it could easily have been nothing. They could have just been some simple pepper-up pills or something. In any case, they’re not thrilled. They haven’t found Dan yet, and his mom is in a state – she works under Dad at the DMLE. Weird thing was, even though he gave me the whole “you should have handled things differently, drugs are serious, etc…” speech, he also didn’t seem that surprised about what had happened. So, either he doesn’t expect much better of Hogwarts students or he knew something. If that’s true, why the hell didn’t HE say something? He’s Head Auror._

_In other news, which Albus will probably tell you about, Professor Williams’ daughter (did you know he had a kid?) is coming after Christmas, and they’re staying at Grimmauld Place. Dad says Professor McGonagall suggested it, but I don’t think so. Did I ever tell that I’d seen our dads and Williams together in Hogsmeade? They weren’t doing anything interesting, just standing on the street talking, but as they seem to be conspicuously not saying anything about knowing one another… It just seems interesting._

_I guess I should finish things up. I want to get this out by owl tonight so you get it tomorrow morning. And, I’m hoping to get some good sleep tonight. Last night was terrible, but this afternoon on the train was nice… just not enough. Do you think you can choose what you dream about? I’m sure if I’d paid better attention in Divination I’d know how. If I could choose, I’d definitely choose the shower… because, you know._

_Jamie  
XOX_

_PS – I gave Lily an earful about the whole “Jamie and Scorpius are boyfriends now!” episode. Hope your dad’s recovered. I really should have planned to bribe her._

_PPS – My dad seems okay with it, and my mom is weirdly elated. Lots of hugs and grins. Maybe that says something about what she thought about everyone I dated in the past… not that she wouldn’t be completely thrilled about you, because you know that she loves you. Sometimes I think she wishes she could swap one of us for you._

_PPPS – I’m already daydreaming about you._

_PPPPS – Just kidding. I realize what I’ve done with all these silly post scripts, and now you know I’m a complete dolt when it comes to you._

\----------

Scorpius checked the time, and he still had about a half an hour before he and his dad were due to leave to take lunch with his Cousin Bernard. So, he grabbed his quill to shoot off a couple of quick letters. With any luck, Jamie and Albus would get them in the late afternoon.

\--------

_Jamie,_

_I knew it! (Not that I knew you’re a compete dolt. Although, I kind of knew that and I happen to like it.) No, I knew Professor Williams knew our parents more than he was letting on. First, he clearly knew who Albus was on our first day of DADA, and not in a ‘he’s obviously Harry Potter’s son’ type of way. It was more of a, ‘your dad was right, you’re a good kid,’ type of knowing who Albus was. Also, when my dad came to visit after the whole punching out Dan episode (Aside: You realize that means we’ve both assaulted Dan, after a manner of speaking. So we now have that in common)… Anyway, when Dad was here I saw Williams speaking with him in the hall, and they seemed friendly with one another. Williams had his hand on my dad’s shoulder. There’ve been a couple of other things as well, small things, but they all made me think that they knew each other a little. So, yes, there’s definitely something there they aren’t telling us._

_Also, I did know that Williams’ daughter was coming. He told me about it during one of our sessions. Her name is Zora, she’s 20, and she’s out of school. She used to be a student at New Amsterdam where Williams taught. I don’t remember if he said anything else about her… I think that’s all he said. Do you think we’ll have a chance to meet her when she’s in London? That would be interesting._

_I miss you already, too. Madame Rimbauld’s is wonderful, and the food is amazing, but it would all be much better if you were here. I don’t know what you ended up dreaming about last night, but I did dream of you, and it was very nice. If you need any ideas for tonight, I’m going to try dreaming about kissing you all over, starting with your forehead and working my way down, inch by inch. Then I’m going to dream about you doing the exact same thing to me. I think that would make a very nice dream._

_Scorpius,  
XOX_

_PS – I like your post scripts._

_PPS – My dad did recover. In the “they may know each other” category, I think someone, either your dad or Williams, tipped him off. So, we didn’t come completely out of the blue._

_PPPS – You should know you don’t have to feel like you’re a dolt on your own, because I’m a complete idiot for you, too._

\--------

_Albus,_

_Jamie did tell me about his ‘discussion’ with your dad on the whole ‘Dan issue.’ (Lots of quotation marks there, aren’t there?). I think I have the general gist of what’s going on, but if there’s anything you think I need to know, please tell me. In particular, if you hear anything about what’s happened to Dan I’d like to know. Also, if there’s anything that could be trouble for Jamie, same holds._

_I did actually know about Williams’ daughter coming over from America, but I didn’t know she’d be staying at your place. That’s interesting. Do you think we’ll have a chance to spend time with them? I’m very curious about her. I’m not sure why, but maybe since I’ve been spending time with him on my wandless magic I’m just generally curious to learn more about him. I also have this feeling that he knows my dad better than he’s indicated._

_My dad seemed to be okay with the idea of me dating Jamie, at least as far as he was willing to let on. So, I’ll let you know if anything more happens there. Here’s hoping it doesn’t turn into another awkward conversation like the one last summer._

_Paris is beautiful this morning, if a little chilly. We have lunch with my dad’s cousin Bernard today, and then we’ll be stopping by the warehouse, which you know I love. That reminds me, I was hoping to do some Christmas shopping while I’m here, so if there’s anything you can think of that you want… or if you have any suggestions about what Jamie might want, I could really use the help._

_Say “hi” to everyone for me, and give Snap and Crackle a rub for me. I’m glad the doubling suppressing diet you’ve been feeding them seems to have been working. They’re nice as just two._

_Scorpius_

_PS – Have you filled out your forms for that summer exchange program Williams mentioned to you? You should probably get that done before he sees you over the holidays. (Just a gentle reminder from your best friend )._

\--------

Scorpius folded up each piece of parchment, tied them together and attached them to Gawain so that he could fly home to Jamie and Albus. Then he got up to go retrieve his dad who’d been waiting patiently in the sitting room of the suite they were letting.

 

\-----^^^^-----

 

When they got to Bernard’s it smelled fantastic. One of the things Scorpius loved about their visits to Paris was the food. Not just the wonderful restaurants, cafes, patisseries, fromageries, charcuteries, etc…etc… but also the home cooked meals at Bernard’s. Bernard’s partner, Etienne was both a writer and chef, of course, and an outstanding one at that. Scorpius was hoping that they’d see them at least a couple of times while they were in the city. They usually did since Bernard managed the Paris side of the family business, which was an amalgam of trading in antiques, artifacts, rare books and documents. There was no doubt at all where Scorpius drew his love of the old and arcane.

Lunch was an impromptu hunter’s stew which was perfect for the weather and complimented the friendly conversation. Scorpius knew the Malfoys had a reputation for being rather uptight and obsessed with their pureblood family status, but for some reason that particular trait missed Bernard entirely. He was just a lighthearted little bookworm who loved digging around in old buildings and through old things. That might have been the reason his dad felt comfortable taking over the business after Lucius was sent away. Working with Bernard made it a refuge from all the family baggage. It seemed ironic that a business that actually dealt in past could be a way of escaping the past.

After lunch they went for a visit to the warehouse which was one of Scorpius’ favorite places on Earth. It was large, but probably only half as large as the Great Hall at Hogwarts, and certainly not as high, but it was absolutely filled with all kinds of antiques, books and other treasures. The whole place seemed like a musty old attic, although Scorpius knew that it was rigorously climate-controlled. His father was a stickler for proper storage.

While his dad and Bernard conducted business Scorpius got to roam around and inspect whatever he wanted. The only caveat was that he must wear a pair of magical gloves which were charmed to protect everything from even the slightest evidence of human contamination. Wearing the gloves even protected everything from Scorpius’ breath. Absolutely nothing would move from his person to the artifacts while he wore them.

Scorpius went straight to the really old stuff; the antiques didn’t usually interest him very much unless they related to books or astronomy. He slowly strolled through the shelves of items from Egypt and North Africa, the Middle East, Persia, India, Southeast Asia, and stopped to look at a few pieces of brass inlaid statuary he thought looked new. Then he moved on to China and Japan, admiring some cauldrons and mortar and pestle sets that looked to be from the 2nd or 3rd century.

After spending over an hour with the antiquities he slipped into the section for books, documents and manuscripts. He browsed through the drawers of maps, pulling out a few to examine. There were maps of the ancient world and mythical cities; maps detailing colonies of dragons and hyppogriffs from the 13th and 14th centuries; maps of the ancient seas with cautions about monsters, sirens, and aggressive merfolk. Scorpius loved to imagine the people who drew these maps, and the experiences of the people who described the places so that they could be recorded. It was almost like looking into a pensive and seeing the lives of people he’d never know.

He had completely lost himself, admiring an illuminated grimoire when he heard footsteps and chatter behind him. Bernard and his father had come to collect him.

“Find anything you liked” Draco asked.

“Of course I did. I love it all.” Scorpius looked around. “I think I’d make an awful dealer, though, I don’t know how you part with any of it.”

“Well, we do know where it’s going, so we can always hunt it down for a visit sometime, you know.” Draco laughed, “It’s not like we’re sending these things out on the street. They all go to good homes.”

“How do you know?” Scorpius asked.

Then Draco was laughing, “Are you suggesting we need to do home visits? I guess that’s not a terrible idea, but usually we already know the buyers. It’s not as if there’s a huge market for some of these things, and there’s a smaller market of people who can and want to invest in them.”

Scorpius shrugged. He supposed that was true. Many things lived in the warehouse for years before they were purchased. A good part of his father and Bernard’s job was finding the right match between buyer and item, and that sometimes did take a long time.

The warehouse office was attached to the floo network, so they flooed back to Bernard’s house for some tea before heading back to the hotel. Just before they left his home, Bernard pulled Scorpius aside and gave him a wrapped gift that looked and felt like it could contain a rather large book.

“I wanted to give you a birthday gift, and I understand from your father that you have a young man now,” he said in his slightly accented English, “I hope you find this practical and enjoyable.”

Scorpius looked down at the gift. “Thank you Cousin Bernard, that’s so kind. I’m sure I’ll love it.”

“I hope so.” He said with a somewhat devious look that made Scorpius seriously wonder what was inside the wrapping. He’d have to wait until he was back in his room to open it.

“Well, we should be going, then.” Draco rose and embraced Bernard. “I’ll see you later this week, perhaps Tuesday?”

“Yes, Tuesday sounds perfect.”

As it was only a few blocks from Bernard’s home to Madam Rimbauld’s, Scorpius and his dad walked.

“So, what did Bernard give you?” he asked.

“I have no idea. I guess I’ll find out when we get to the room.”

“I suppose so,” Draco agreed. Scorpius could have sworn his father looked a little pink. Hopefully he wasn’t coming down with something.

When they got back to the room Draco begged off hanging around to watch Scorpius open his gift. He wanted to shower and change before dinner, but he told Scorpius he didn’t need to wait on him to open it. So, Scorpius went into his room and opened it up. It was a very old French book titled “ _Le Guide Pratique des Senses Pour L’Hommes._ ” He opened it up and nearly screamed. This was clearly not a muggle document because the illustrations inside were moving… and they were… He could barely even say it to himself in his own head… The men in the illustrations were clearly engaged in a wide variety of sensory pleasures… bodily pleasures… for men… between men. Scorpius had never seen such a detailed, really encyclopedic resource before in his life. He had no idea such a thing existed. It was stunning and mesmerizing and he was incredibly curious. He did not want to look and he also did not want to look away at the same time. So, he did the only thing he could think of. He took a deep breath and he flipped to the table of contents to get a sense of what was really in this thing.

The book was divided into sections reviewing and illustrating, in some detail, the various physical and sensory activities one might engage with, either on one’s own or with a male partner. Scorpius supposed that there must be a similar book for men and women, and potentially for women and women. The book also contained a handy mini-grimoire with a variety of protective, cleansing, and what he had to define as “supplementary” charms and spells, things that could help enhance the experience. It was all very… instructional…. and visual… and he could not stop thinking about Jamie. He was still nearly two weeks away from seeing him again, and it was very possible that this book might drive him mad. It certainly could cause him to have to spend a great deal of time in private.

As he flipped through the pages and tried to get comfortable with the idea of owning this document he had the very unpleasant thought that he was a mere hour away from dinner… with his father… who was going to ask about the gift. He immediately began to debate if it was better to try to deal with the question now or to wait until closer to dinner. He opted for now because he was getting hungry and he really wanted to be able to eat. So, he opened the door to the sitting room, and of course his dad was there in his robe reading.

“Hey,” he said, trying to seem nonchalant.

“So, did you open it?” Draco asked.

“Yes, it was a book.” Scorpius looked at his dad, wondering…. “Dad, did you know what it was?”

Draco didn’t say anything and didn’t look up from his book, but he did raise his eyebrows and pink up a little.

“ _Merlin_ , Dad!” Scorpius screamed and tossed a small bolster at his father. “Did the two of you hatch this up together? I may never be able to eat there again, and I love Etienne’s food!”

Draco was laughing now and truly red in the face. “No, please… I mentioned you’d started seeing someone and that it might be serious… and he went from there. But, it does have the advantage of covering nearly everything. So, we don’t have to spend much time talking about the details unless you want to.”

“No, I don’t want… no…” Scorpius said, starting to see the awkward hilarity of his incredibly private father being confronted by his very French and open-minded cousin on this subject.

“Okay,” Draco said, “There is just a little bit I do need to say, as your father.”

Scorpius braced himself.

“Jamie seems like a good person, and even though I haven’t been overly fond of his parents over the years I have no reason to believe that they haven’t raised a thoughtful and considerate son. Certainly, Albus is proof of the quality of their child-rearing. I know that you’re a fine young man, as well. So, I just want you to ask that whatever you do with Jamie… or with anyone in the future… that you are caring and considerate with your partner, and that you expect the same from them. The things in that book… they are more meaningful if you have an open, trusting and affectionate relationship with your partner, and that’s what I would always hope for you.” Draco stopped then. Although he looked a little like he might add to the statement, he did not.

Scorpius breathed a sigh of relief. That wasn’t as bad as he had feared. Not great, but not horrible, and actually kind of nice. “Thanks Dad. Um… I’m going to go get ready for dinner, then.”

Then his father did add one comment, “Oh, and do always use a protective spell. That’s not negotiable.”

“Thanks again, Dad.” Scorpius said as he fled for his room.

 

\-----^^^^-----

Tuesday, December 14, Paris

Scorpius awoke to the sound of Gawain at the window again. He let him in and untied the scroll. There were two letters again.

He started with the note from Albus.

 

\-----------

_Scorpius,  
_

_Well, Dan finally showed up and doesn’t remember anything other than that he was getting the pills from some guy at the Hogshead. Of course, that guy is nowhere to be found now. The owners don’t know where he went. He called in sick a couple of days ago, and they haven’t heard from him since. I have no idea what’s next or if Jamie’s going to be in any kind of trouble._

_Re: gifts. I have no idea what to tell you for Jamie. He likes quidditch, obviously, and has always planned to be an auror. On the other hand, he did spend a lot of time as a kid trailing along after mom at her work, so you never know. He also reads more than he lets on. I have no idea what I want. I always like something sweet . Just don’t get me a beret. You know it would never stay on my head._

_Oh, and we’re going to see the Chudley Cannons play on Saturday. Uncle Ron’s excited, but I’m assuming they’ll lose again._

_Ten days until Christmas!_

_Albus_

_PS – I already had the application done! (Surprised?) Uncle Nev said he’d help Hagrid with his recommendation which needs to accompany it._

 

\------------

 

_Scor,_

_Dan finally surfaced, and apparently remembers next to nothing. He says he got the pills from some guy at the Hogshead, which actually could be true. I did see him chatting up a guy working at the bar there, but that also just be Dan being Dan. Other than that, they’ve got nothing. Dan claims he just overdid it and then woke up locked in a closet in the Castle, which I really don’t believe. They found him wandering around the grounds, and he has no explanation of how he got out of the mystery closet._

_There’s nothing else much to report. Al’s probably told you, Uncle Ron has planned for the whole family to break out the orange and go see the Cannons play on Saturday. Sorry you’ll miss it… It’s shaping up to be quite the Potter-Weasley experience._

_You’ll be glad to know that I slept very nicely last night. Your suggestion was perfect, and I had a very, very pleasurable time getting to sleep. I particularly enjoyed thinking about kissing the places on you with the tiny light freckles. Tonight I think I’ll plan to dream of kissing you long and deep while I gently stroke your beautiful pink cock until you’re panting and leaking cum. Then I’m going to tease your neck with my teeth, sucking in the beautiful scent of you. I’m going to wrap my hand around your deliciously firm prick, teasing the tip with my thumb, and rubbing you off until you can barely breathe and you’re coming so hard you can’t remember your own name._

_Jamie  
XOX_

_PS – I think I’m starting to get the hang of manipulating my dreams. Hope you’re having the same luck._

_PPS – Look forward to hearing what you’ve been dreaming about._

 

\---------

Scorpius was a little flushed. Jamie definitely was fast becoming his favorite pen pal. He grabbed a quill and once he’d finished a note to Albus, he moved on to his note to Jamie.

\---------

_Jamie,_

_I’m glad Dan’s back. It sounds like there’s not much to go on, though. Does your dad have any sense of where the guy from the Hogshead went? Part time labor can be quite transient, so it’s possible he’s more or less disappeared. The best chance they may have is if they can detect any spells from his wand… or perhaps when it’s tax time again._

_I’m sorry I’ll miss your big family quidditch outing, but you can fill me in on any excitement when I see you on the 25th. I was going to include some kind of double entendre about cannon balls and heavy artillery, but it I just couldn’t. So, you can now make them up on your own._

_In the “fun” news category, I received a very interesting gift from my cousin Bernard, the one who works with my dad. I can’t really explain it in a letter, but I guarantee you’ll find it interesting and inspiring. You’ll have to wait for New Year’s to see it though, because it’s not the kind of thing I can bring with me to the Burrow for Christmas Dinner._

_I hope your planned dream worked out for you. I think I’d like to dream that I’m completely naked, and holding myself just inches above your warm, naked and very eager body. We’re not touching, but we’re tantalizingly close, just millimeters separate us in places. When I lean down and whisper in your ear, you can feel the wet heat of my breath. I’m saying the most salacious things about what I’m going to do to you; what I want to do to you with my lips and my tongue and my teeth; and about the places I plan to feast and lick. The idea of the stroke of my fingertips, the flick of my tongue, and the brush of my lips makes you quiver and shudder and gasp. I’m so close, close enough that if I drop my hips just the tiniest bit the tip of my shimmering, hard cock would touch yours, but I don’t move. I just keep whispering, tempting you, lighting your senses on fire, making you beg until you come just from the anticipation of my touch._

_Scorpius  
XOX_

_PS – You’re my new favorite pen pal._

_PPS – Only 10 days left until I we see each other… And, I asked Dad, and we can stay over for Boxing Day._

_PPPS – If you need any additional ideas, the gift I received came wrapped with a rather extravagant bow… I think you’d look very nice in a bow; strategically placed, of course._

 

\-----^^^^-----

 

Thursay morning Gawain was back.

 

_Scor,_

_I would have written sooner, but the truth is that I haven’t been able to get out of bed all day. I’ve just been lying here, naked and sated with my cock in my hand and my own cum dripping across my body. I could get up to eat, but the truth is the only thing I want to taste right now is you. The only thing keeping me going is the sight of this shiny, little Christmas bow I found the other day. Where do you think I should put it?_

_Please write soon. I may not survive._

_Jamie  
XOX_

 

\-----^^^^-----

 

Gawain arrived back at Jamie’s window late Thursday evening.

_Jamie,_

_It pains me to hear that you are in such dire straits. If only you were in Paris where there are so many delicious treats. Some of them must be sweet enough to tempt you. If you were here I would nurse you back to health myself, ministering gently to your every need, feeding you creme-filled chouquettes by hand, and carefully licking any remnants you leave behind on your lips, or any I carelessly spill elsewhere._

_In the meantime, I hope that this piece of nourishment will help to carry you over until we are able to see one another again._

_Scorpius  
XOX_

_PS – Please hold on to the bow. I have some ideas brewing._

 

\-----^^^^-----

 

It wasn’t until early Saturday morning that Gawain reappeared at Scorpius’ window at Madame Rimbauld's. This time in addition to the regular letter from Albus one of the letters written in handwriting that appeared to be Lily’s. After reading Albus’ letter, Scorpius opened the second.

 

_Hi Scorpius,_

_I’m writing for Jamie who says to thank you for the chocolate you sent. It was essential in keeping him going just a little bit longer. However, he wants me to tell you that he’s simply too weak to write any longer. He needs to conserve every last bit of energy he has so that he’s in good health and has plenty of stamina when you visit on Christmas._

_Your friend,_

_Lily_

_PS – He also says you can send more chocolate, if you like._

_PPS – You guys are weird._

_PPPS – Sorry about spilling the beans about you and Jamie. I was just really excited because even though you are weird, I also think you’re cute. See you at Christmas!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Needed a little something light here after the last chapter....


	6. Bows and Wrapping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Christmas, which means shiny bows and unwrapping presents and other things...

On the 23rd Gawain arrived at the window of Malfoy Manor

_Scor,_

_Any chance you can come to our house early on Christmas? We could floo over to the Burrow together. I don’t want to wait until Christmas dinner to see you._

_If you can, even an hour would be great._

_Jamie_  
_X_

\-------

Scorpius laughed at the letter. Jamie couldn’t hold out until the 25th… or, rather, he could hold out until the 25th, but not any longer than absolutely necessary. If he and his dad both flooed to the Burrow together he wouldn’t have an opportunity to be alone with Jamie until at least late that night when they got back to the Potter’s… or even the next morning. Besides, if he stopped at the Potters' first he could take their bags and the gifts. So, it was a practical choice. That’s how he’d present it, anyway.

 

\-----^^^^-----

 

Scorpius’ skin felt as though 100 spiders were crawling beneath it. Anxious wasn’t the word. Expectant, eager, just absolutely dying to be touched were the words for it. He hadn’t seen Jamie in two weeks and had only heard from him once in just over a week, even though he had kept sending little pieces of chocolate daily. Between his chocolates, and letters flying between the Potters' and the Manor, the owls had been busy.

When he lurched forward from the hearth Christmas afternoon, he found himself being pulled into Albus’ arms for a nice, tight hug. If it was possible, Albus had become even more huggy since he started seeing Phoebe.

“Happy Christmas! I’m so glad you’re here. Someone, and I’m not saying who, has been driving me right around the bend. He’d probably kill me for telling you this, but I swear he’s tried five shirts today.”

Scorpius looked around but didn’t see Jamie immediately.

“He’s trying to seem cool.” Albus said, and Scorpius laughed and turned to say hello to Mr. and Mrs. Potter while he pulled two large overnight bags into the room.

“Are those big enough, Scorpius?” Harry asked.

“Well, you know Dad doesn’t like to be underdressed, and we also packed some gifts.”

“That’s so sweet, of you… Did you have fun in Paris?” Ginny asked.

“We did. We spent some time with Dad’s cousin and his partner. Dad caught up on some work. I got to stop by the warehouse, and we did some shopping and visited some art galleries. We also went to the muggle symphony, which was fun.”

“Wow – sounds like a busy week… and you fit in all those owls, too!” She teased.

Scorpius smiled, “Yes, well… those didn’t take too much time. Gawain seems to have survived.”

Finally, Jamie came bounding down the stairs and pulled Scorpius into a hug as well. It was a little awkward since neither of them were sure about how to do this kind of thing in front of family, but, Merlin, it felt fantastic. It was insane how much he’d wanted this, and being this close to Jamie only reminded him how much more he wanted.

His thoughts were interrupted when Jamie reached into his pocket and pulled out a shiny little bow. “I was working on some things upstairs and I’m hoping you can help me out with this.”

Scorpius wondered if he was the first person ever to get hard looking at a Christmas bow. He hoped it wasn’t too obvious. Jamie, of course, was smiling a wicked smile that made his eyes crinkle up. Damn, he looked good, and Scorpius was sure he was grinning like the village fool.

Jamie looked at his parents and Albus with the most innocent look he could muster, “Do you mind if I borrow him for a bit?”

“No, but remember, we need to be ready to go at half-past four.”

As Jamie pulled Scorpius out of the room he called back, “I won’t forget.”

“I mean it Jamie. Draco’s always very prompt, and we don’t want to make him have to brave it on his own.”

“Got it, mom!” He yelled from the top of the stairs.

When they got to his room he locked and camouflaged the door with a _celaverimus colloportus_ and cast a _muffliato_.

“Locked, silent and looks like it’s open from the outside…” he said to Scorpius.

Scorpius knew exactly where he was going with that. He could not wait to get his hands on Jamie. He’d been waiting for nearly two weeks, and most of that time he’d had that book, the “Guide,” to drive him absolutely mad. He didn’t have to wait any longer, though, because before he could even think about it Jamie was pulling him into his arms.

“So, what are you going to do with this?” Jamie asked holding up the bow.

“That?” Scorpius asked. “Probably nothing, but I plan on doing something fun with you.”

Jamie perked up an eyebrow and pulled him into a kiss. Merlin, Jamie’s lips were perfect, better than he remembered, and his tongue knew just how to stroke around the inside of Scorpius’ mouth to make him moan… and he was warm and smelled so good, something like fresh laundry and quidditch pitch.

Jamie’s hands were starting to pull at Scorpius’ shirt and Scorpius was doing the same. He wanted Jamie’s clothes off as near to immediately as he could manage, but that wasn’t actually his plan… and he did have one… at least a little bit of one.

“Wait…I want to do this.You get to watch, more or less.” Scorpius said.

“Well, I don’t know, but I’ll try. Tell me what you want.”

“Let me undress you.”

Jamie bit his lip, and nodded, and Scorpius began slowly undressing him. First he pulled off his jumper, and then the t-shirt he was wearing beneath. He drew his hands across Jamie’s chest, really taking him in, drifting his fingers through the light spray of hair around his nipples and on his sternum. He moved his hands to trace the outline of Jamie’s collarbone and shoulders, and then slowly shifted his hands down past Jamie’s waist into the soft trail of hair that led down from his navel.

As he began to remove Jamie's pants he leaned in for a kiss, starting light and then gradually pressing harder and probing further with his tongue. Jamie circled Scorpius’ neck and worked into his hair and pulled him in closer. He opened Jamie’s fly to nudge his pants down and moved his hands inside to tease Jamie. Jamie groaned and pushed against him, and Scorpius slipped Jamie’s clothing down below his hips.

“Take your shoes off, I’m taking these off.”

Jamie kicked his shoes and socks off, and Scorpius pushed him back onto the bed, sliding Jamie's pants off. He stood there for a moment, just admiring the way Jamie looked reclining naked before him. He couldn’t decide which part of him he liked the best. It was all so tempting, and he planned to touch all of it.

Jamie pulled his arm over his face, “Merlin, ease up on that.”

“Why? I love the way you look. I want to look at you.”

Jamie was fully blushing, and Scorpius noticed that it was flowing down from his face onto his neck and the top of his chest. It was incredibly adorable.

He bent down and took Jamie’s feet in his hands, gently gliding his hands up his feet, around his ankles, over his calves and to the back of his knees. Then he moved his hands to the inside of Jamie’s knees and pressed them apart a bit so that he could move up between them as he worked his way upward, pulling off his own shirt in the process.

He continued, slowly moving his fingers up the inside of Jamie’s thighs, coaxing them up and apart so that he could position himself between Jamie’s legs. He moved his hands around the sides of Jamie’s bum and rested them by his waist as he gently kissed the soft skin on each hip, then nestled his face in that wonderful tuft of hair that sprouted up from the top of his cock and made it’s way up to his belly. It was so amazingly soft. Scorpius just wanted to bury his face there.

He could feel Jamie’s pulse and breath quickening as he nuzzled just below Jamie’s navel and decided to turn his attention to Jamie’s cock. It was waiting so patiently but was so very, very eager. Every time he moved his hands, it jumped just a little… wordlessly begging Scorpius for attention. So, he wrapped one hand around its base and began to lick the tip. He could taste a tiny bit of pre-cum, and liked the salty slickness of it.

Jamie moaned and shifted his hips and legs to invite Scorpius to take more of him. Scorpius did, hoping he was doing this right. He trailed is tongue down and around Jamie’s shaft, wetting it so that it was slick and ready. Then he took Jamie completely in his mouth, wrapping his lips in a tight circle around Jamie's cock and moving down, feeling the tip press against the back of his mouth. It was deliciously warm and alive.

“Yes… Scor…. Yes…” Jamie was groaning and had his hand threaded in Scorpius hair. He began rocking his hips up and back in time with Scorpius’ movements.

The sound of Jamie’s voice shot a wave of desire through Scorpius, and he could feel himself getting hard. He leaned back on his knees, undid his pants and yanked them off. If he was going to come he didn’t want anything in the way. He wanted to be completely here, in this moment with Jamie.

He dropped back down and took Jamie in his mouth again, using one of his hands to circle Jamie’s cock and rub along the shaft as he worked his tip with his tongue and lips. Jamie was rocking hard now, and Scorpius could feel he was close. He moved his other hand around behind Jamie’s balls and began to explore there with his fingertips. Jamie was gasping for air, pushing Scorpius to take him deeper and deeper in his mouth with one hand, and grasping the sheet with the other. Scorpius moved more, sucking harder and pressing his tongue down along the ridge of his shaft and up with a little flick at the tip.

Jamie’s breathing was getting shallower as he was getting closer, and Scorpius gripped harder at the base of his shaft to hold him back a little. He felt Jamie filling his mouth again and again as he worked up and down his cock.

“Merlin, Scor…. Oh…. That….” Then he stopped speaking and just made a choked groan.

Jamie’s back arched and he pressed hard with his dick into Scorpius’ mouth, and Scorpius felt his cum shoot against the back of his throat, coating the top of his mouth and his tongue. It was amazing, and Scorpius felt a jolt of arousal.

He rose up, leaving Jamie’s prick with a last little lick, and moved up to kiss Jamie, feeling pretty satisfied that he’d executed things successfully. Jamie pulled him into his arms and kissed him fully, completely.

“Is that me?” Jamie wondered at the taste.

“Um-hmmm.” Scorpius answered.

Jamie looked in Scorpius’ eyes, and Scorpius thought he had never seen them look so soft and open, vulnerable. Jamie kissed him again, nipping along his lip, and moved his hand to circle and rub Scorpius cock, pleasuring him. Scorpius closed his eyes and fell completely into his body, driven only by the sensation of Jamie, rocking into Jamie’s fist, letting Jamie bring him to orgasm, too.

When Scorpius came he pulled at Jamie, who held him close. Then they whispered each other’s names as they kissed and shivered and stroked each other’s warm, dewy skin. As they lay together they drifted into conversation.

“You having a good Christmas so far?”

Scorpius laughed a conspiratorial laugh, “Why yes, and you?”

“I am… It’s very good so far…. So, how was your trip? How was last night and this morning?

“Trip was good. Paris is always great. Dinner last night was fine, quiet, just us and my Grandmother. This morning was nice. How about you? Get anything fun?

“Mmm… Plenty of nice things, but nothing really exciting. Is that awful to say?” Jamie wondered. “I got some new clothing and some good books… but, I’m not sure anyone really knows what to get me…. I’ll only be in school for another six months, and then with Auror training. I don’t know… There’s not much that I need, and I’m not sure what I want.”

“I noticed. I had a hard time picking for you, but I think I managed fairly well.”

“Oh?” Jamie looked expectantly.

“Yes, but you’ll have to wait like everyone else.” Scorpius said with a little tap on Jamie’s nose.

“Good, because you’re waiting, too.” Jamie looked down at a necklace with a small amulet hanging around Scorpius’ neck. “This is new, yes?”

“Yes. My dad found it for me. It came into the warehouse from an estate Bernard secured in France.”

“I like it. It looks good on you.” Jamie dropped the amulet and moved his hand up onto Scorpius’ neck, tracing his jawline with his thumb. “It’s sexy.”

Scorpius laughed and blushed, “Now you’re making me self-conscious.”

“Don’t be…” Jamie said, staggering his words between kisses “because you are very, very sexy.”

“Stop talking now, please.” Scorpius pleaded, growing pinker by the minute.

“As you wish.” Jamie responded and added a full, deep kiss which devolved into a good five minutes or more of deliciousness before they separated, knowing they needed to get moving if they were going to be ready to leave on time.

“Do we need a shower?” Scorpius asked.

“Probably,” Jamie answered, not really wanting to move. “I’ll check to see that the coast is clear and we can jump in.”

He started to get up off the bed and then rolled back over on top of Scorpius, giving him another kiss and popping the bow on his milky white bum, “That was worth the wait… but, I’m pretty sure you always would be.”

 

\------^^^^-------

 

At four-thirty, Jamie and Scorpius were miraculously ready to go and headed downstairs to join the family and floo over to the Burrow. In less than fifteen minutes the entire Potter clan was emerging from a series of green flares into the Burrow sitting room.

The next few hours were the typical Burrow whir; dozens of people seated around tables in the hodgepodge that was the Burrow dining room; the bedlam level din that rang around the room as everyone teased everyone about something; food crisscrossing the table as arms reached and passed something to someone. Scorpius and Jamie spent the meal seated close together, brushing their legs together and finding opportunities to touch one another. It was a way for each to remind himself that the other one was actually there, in the flesh. At one point Scorpius looked around the table and noticed his father in conversation with Arthur Weasley. He wondered what his dad made of all this. It was the complete opposite of the Manor in nearly every way.

After dinner everyone crowded together in the sitting room, finding spots anyplace that was open and looked like it would hold some weight. Sofa arms, coffee tables, end tables, everything was requisitioned for seating. The room was full to bursting with people. Even though they were no longer little children, Lily and Hugo were still the youngest, so they were detailed to dig the presents out from under the tree and pass them around the room. As was tradition, everyone received new Christmas jumpers, and Scorpius debated if Molly Weasley was secretly employing house elves to complete the annual task. There were an obscene number of jumpers in the room.

Once the gifts were unwrapped, Arthur and Molly insisted on organizing everyone into the annual “Weasley Christmas Photo” which included anyone who happened to be on site. As Scorpius and Draco were squeezed in with the rest of the extended family, Scorpius wondered if his dad had ever imagined that he’d be a regular recipient of a knitted jumper from Molly Weasley and that he’d feature in repeated editions of the Weasley Christmas Photo. As they finally sorted themselves into some kind of photographable blub someone, presumably Ron, George or Hugo, let off some kind of whizzing gizmo from Weasley’s Joke Shop, which left the resulting photo featuring a number of surprised and distracted subjects, and two or three who were being plonked on the head.

As everyone broke apart Scorpius looked over and saw his father heading out the side door and he followed him.

“Having a little break?”

Draco stretched his neck and looked up into the sky, “It’s hard to believe so many people can fit in so few square feet.”

“I know, and they continue to talk to each other, too. I don’t know if they’d have a clue what to do with all the space we have at the manor.”

“I’m not always sure we know what to do with the space.”

Scorpius thought about that and nodded. “I saw you talking with Mr. Weasley earlier, I hope he wasn’t boring you.”

“No..” Draco shoved his hands in his pockets.

“Because I know he can be…” Scorpius was searching for the word when his dad broke in.

“Scorpius, whatever you think… don’t…. Arthur Weasley is an extraordinary person.” Draco paused for a long time before he started again, trying to find the words to explain. “He lost his son during the War… and I was… and now he welcomes me… us… into his home and his family…” He looked down at his arms. “His wife knits us sweaters…” Draco shook his head. “So, whatever quirky traits he has, you need to remember that he’s probably the most admirable man you will ever meet.”

Draco pulled Scorpius close and spoke into his hair, “I don’t know if I could ever forgive someone if they had something to do with harming you…”

“Hey, you two” Teddy was yelling from an opened door, “Charades?”

“You up for that?” Scorpius asked

“Why not?”

“Do you think they let Teddy morph? If so, we need to get on his team.” Scorpius laughed and pulled his dad inside.

 

\------^^^^------

 

Scorpius could feel his head dropping. He wasn’t bored, just exhausted. They’d been at the Burrow for about five hours, and as much fun as it was, he just wasn’t used to this much activity. He really liked the Weasleys, but it was all a little overwhelming at times.

He felt a hand ruffle his hair and looked up. It was Jamie.

“Hey, don’t fall asleep on us. We still need to floo home, you know.” Jamie said as he slid in to sit beside him.

“I know… I’m just… There are a lot of people.” Scorpius tried to explain.

Jamie looked around and gave a sympathetic laugh, “Yeah… I guess we are a lot when we’re all together.” He leaned over and gave Scorpius a little kiss on the forehead, and Scorpius snuggled in close to him and started to doze off again.

“Hey,” Jamie whispered in his ear, “I think I know what might perk you up…”

Scorpius opened an eye.

“There are still a couple of treacle tarts left. Want one?”

“You know I do.” Scorpius smiled.

“Well, you better get up and get them before Hugo snags them both.”

At that, Scorpius roused himself to retrieve the last of the tarts off the buffet. When he made his way back to Jamie, everyone had managed to collect themselves so that they could head back home for the night.

“Oh, is that for me?” Albus asked about the second tart.

“It’s for whoever grabs it first” Scorpius answered, and both Jamie and Albus made a go at it with Albus coming out the winner.

“No way. You cheated,” Jamie pouted.

“Nope, I just know Scorpius’ moves a little better… You’ll get the hang of it. Years of ‘best-friending’ give me some advantages.” Albus smiled with tart crumbs falling from his mouth.

 

\------^^^^------

 

When they got back to the Potters' everyone made for their bedrooms, with Ginny showing Draco where he’d be spending the night. The house wasn’t large, but it had a nice feature of expanding just enough to accommodate any guest that might show up. As a result, his dad had a sunny, yellow room with its own bath attached, and although it didn’t exactly his style choices it did give him a good measure of privacy.

Albus, Jamie and Lily all had bedrooms on the same floor, and before he made his way to Albus’ room for the night Scorpius stopped with Jamie in front of Jamie’s door. Even though Scorpius really, really liked the time they spent together that afternoon he was also definitely looking forward to spending the night in Albus’ company. He just wasn’t in a ‘spend all night with your boyfriend’ place yet, and he definitely was in a ‘hang out and get some quality sleep in your best friend’s room’ state of mind. He was really looking forward to bunking down in Albus’ trundle. So, he and Jamie exchanged good nights and shared a little good night kiss, and then he went down the hall to hang with Albus.

When he got into Albus’ room he couldn’t help but take in a deep breath and let out a big sigh. After spending so many nights here over the years he felt comfortable in Albus’ room… it was almost like it was his own room. He actually wasn’t sure if anyone other than he used the trundle. So, it was almost like he had his own bed, too.

“Long day?” Albus asked.

“Yes, and no… I love your family, but there are a lot of them.”

“Tell me about it.”

They changed into their pajamas and climbed into bed, and Albus noxed the light and squinched over to the edge of his so he could look down at Scorpius sleeping below.

“You have fun in Paris?”

“Yeah… it was good… We should go there sometime. You could come and meet my Dad’s cousin, Bernard. You’d like him…” then Scorpius stopped for a moment. “He got me the craziest book for my birthday.”

“Yeah, what was it?”

“Well, I think this kind of falls in the ‘awkward moments in Scorpius Malfoy’s life’ category, because it’s this huge French book that’s basically a sex manual for men… Kind of …”

Albus flicked Scorpius hand with his, “ _Stop_. You’re joking. Please say you’re joking.”

“Oh, no… It’s true, completely true. Luckily, I didn’t open it until we got back to Madam Rimbauld’s, but I still kind of had to talk to Dad about it.”

“Oh, that must have been fun.”

“Well, it wasn’t as bad as it might have been… and it did manage to take care of Dad having to do the whole ‘now that you might be doing things with your boyfriend’ conversation, which would probably have been at least ten times more awkward.”

“Did you guys have a talk? I mean… about that?”

“Sort of. He kind of said some things about treating each other right, being safe…stuff like that…. Has your Dad given you that lecture yet?”

“Yeah, the day after we got home he decided it was a good idea. I mean, we’ve gone over the basics in the past, but now that I actually HAVE a girlfriend, I think he thought he was obligated to provide a refresher course.”

“Well, your dad can’t be worse at it than my dad.”

“I dunno. My dad tries to be all funny and pal-like, which is awkward. At least your dad would just lay it out there. You know, all rational presentation.”

“You’d think so, but I think he thinks he needs to add some sentiment to make up for the fact that mum’s not around to do that…. He’s not great at it. But, I’ll give him credit, he’s getting better.”

“It must be weird to be a dad sometimes. Do you want to be one?” Albus asked.

“Not right now…” Scorpius joked lightly, “But I guess so, sometime…. I don’t actually think about it much. How about you?”

“I think so.” Albus paused for a little while, “If I do have a kid, I hope he’s like you – Is that weird?”

“I hope not.” Scorpius laughed, then added “Well, if I have one, I’d be really happy if he turned out like you, too.”

Albus gave out a little contented sigh, “Well, we should probably get to sleep… Happy Christmas, Scorpius.”

“Happy Christmas, Albus. See you tomorrow.”

 

\------^^^^------

 

“Wake up…” He heard a voice whispering loudly in his ear… “Wake up… and help me get Albus up…”

Scorpius opened his eyes and saw two big blue eyes on a freckle-filled face topped by a mound of red hair. Lily. He managed to pull himself up and looked over at Albus, who was still solidly asleep in his bed.

“He looks like a hibernating bear or something, doesn’t he?” Scorpius whispered to Lily, then added, “Not sure why I’m whispering, you know how he is…”

“Well, help me wake him up. It’s already nearly brunch time, and Phoebe will be here in like thirty minutes. He needs to get dressed.”

“All right, let’s give it a try.”

“Albus!” Scorpius poked at his friend, “Albus!” he shook him a little, but there was still no movement.

Scorpius and Lily looked at each other and Lily started to climb on Albus’ bed.

“Albus!” they screamed as Lily started jumping up and down on the bed. “Albus, there’s a Hippogryff running off with your presents!” Scorpius screamed while Lily continued to jump.

Albus rolled over and swatted his friend. “I know that’s not true….” Albus laughed, “No hippogriff wants my new mittens. They’d never fit.”

Then he started to sit up, “Okay, Lily… you can stop now… You’re making me seasick!”

“Well, hurry up. You need to get dressed. Phoebe will be here soon.”

Albus eyebrows shot up, “Why didn’t you wake me sooner?”

Lily groaned and hit him with one of his pillows.

 

\------^^^^------

 

When they made it downstairs Mr. Potter was just about to serve up pancakes, and Scorpius’ dad was helping out in the kitchen and wearing an apron.

“Is that usual?” Albus asked, looking at Mr. Malfoy.

“Not really, but every once in a while…. He’s pretty good with eggs, and he makes a good quiche. I think he learned some back when he lived in France … after the War.”

“Well, you learn something every day.” Albus marveled.

Just then, there was a green flare in the hearth and Phoebe tumbled into the living room. Albus ran over to greet her in a way that made it seem like he was trying to appear not to actually run because he didn’t want everyone to know exactly how excited he was to see her, which Scorpius found incredibly charming. There was a reason Albus was his best friend.

Albus pulled her into a big hug, “Happy Christmas… sort of. How was yours?”

“Great” she said, giving him a quick kiss and flashing a big, dimpled smile, which quickly turned him pink, “How was yours?”

“Nice, busy, glad you’re here now…” Words started to tumble out of his mouth, “We’re actually just about ready for brunch. So, your timing is perfect.”

“Oh, good, because I’m getting a little hungry.” She laced her fingers with Albus’ and came over to greet everyone else.

While Phoebe was saying her hellos, Jamie came in and wrapped his arms around Scorpius, giving him a little peck on the ear. “You’re warm” he said.

“You’re cold.” Scorpius answered, “Have you been outside?”

“Um-hum… Just finishing something up.” He answered mysteriously.

Scorpius’ eyes lit up at that, hoping the mystery involved something fun and potentially present related.

They all sat down to a huge brunch of multiple types of pancakes, bangers, soft boiled eggs, toast, bacon, fried tomatoes and potatoes. Scorpius wasn’t sure how they were going to fit it all in, but amazingly nearly all of it was eaten.

Once they were all completely full, and the table had been cleared, they moved into the sitting room to exchange gifts. Scorpius had to admit to himself that he was a little excited about watching everyone open their gifts. He’d had a really good time finding them, and hoped they all liked them.

Albus was the first to open his, “Hey, what’s this?” He said, turning over the book, titled “ _Enchanted Ecologies_.”

“It’s new, it’s about the interrelationship between magical flora and fauna. A friend of Professor Williams wrote it..”

“Cool,” Albus said and put it aside, then he opened the next package, which was a soft one, “Very funny,” he said as he pulled out the beret and tried it on. It didn’t stay on his messy hair very well. Then he unraveled the other item, and saw they were pajama bottoms that had little dragons all over them. “Patronus Pants!’ He laughed. “I love them.”

Scorpius turned to open his gift from Albus, the first one was a small box with a group of brushes in them.

“They’re to go with the tool set your dad got you… you know, for the dig this summer.” Albus said.

“Thanks, Al, that’s really nice.” Then Scorpius opened the other, two, the first was a field book to go with the other archaeological tools and the second was a pair of socks with scorpions all over them. “Where’d you find these? He asked.

“Owl order” Albus smiled.

Then Scorpius handed Lily a box. “I found this when I was in Paris and thought of you.”

She opened it up and inside was a vintage 70’s print silk bag, “I love it, Scorpius… Jemma’s going to be so jealous! Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” Then Scorpius looked over at Jamie and handed him his gifts. He hoped he’d like them.

Jamie opened up the first which was a stack of muggle books, _In Cold Blood_ , by Truman Capote, _The Perfect Storm_ by Sebastian Junger and _All the Presidents Men_ by two guys named Woodward and Bernstein. “Where’d you get these?”

“I found them at a muggle bookstore when I was in London last week…. I told the clerk about you and she suggested them. They’re supposed to be good. They're kind of classics of their genres...One’s from the 1960’s or something, but it’s supposed to be the first "true crime” classic.”

Jamie nodded, looking at them, “Thanks.”

Then as Jamie turned to the other package from Scorpius, Draco nudged Scorpius, “When did you start going off into muggle London on your own?” He asked.

“Last week. I was on Diagon, and I figured I’d check out some of the other shopping areas.”

“Where’d you get the money?” Draco continued.

“I had some left from this summer. Plus some I got at Gringott’s. They exchange you know, and now that I’m 16, I have access to some of my trust from mum.”

“I wish you wouldn’t go off on your own like that… The muggle world isn’t always like ours.”

“Dad, it was really nothing, just some shopping” Scorpius said, looking at his dad. “Honestly, you don’t have anything to worry about.”

Scorpius turned to look back at Jamie who had just worked the other gifts free and opened them, uncovering an embossed leather journal and an antique burled self-refilling quill. He seemed taken with them and looked up at Scorpius, “They’re really beautiful.”

“You like them?” Scorpius asked. He really wasn’t sure what Jamie would think of them, but they seemed right, “You seem to have been enjoying writing lately.” He smiled.

Jamie smiled back at him. “Yeah. I have.” Then he handed Scorpius a package “There are two, actually, but the other one is outside in the garage.”

Scorpius opened the first. It was a copy of the new edition of “Archaeology and Astronomy” that he’d been reading through when Jamie found him at Flourish & Blotts a couple of weeks ago. He smiled “Thanks, I wanted this.”

“I had a feeling…” Then he jumped up and grabbed Scorpius’ hand, “Come on, let’s go see the other one.”

“We’ll be back in just a minute.” Jamie said to everyone as he and Scorpius got up to head outside.

They quickly scrambled out to the garage. It wasn’t actually that cool out, but cool enough to discourage too long a visit. When the got in the garage Jamie pulled out an awkwardly wrapped item about the size of a broom. Scorpius opened it.

“Jamie, where’d you find this?” He asked looking at the restored vintage broom.

“Cool huh? It’s a Firebolt C. I found it at the back of that old junk shop down the lane in Hogsmeade when I was shopping for your birthday. I’m pretty sure the old guy there had no idea what he had…. It just took a little elbow grease, and you’re a good enough flyer that you should be able to manage it even if it is a little temperamental.”

“It’s so beautiful. I love it. Really, I love it.” He gave Jamie the biggest hug he could manage while holding the broom.

“I’m glad. I really like seeing you happy.” Jamie said, giving Scorpius a kiss.

“Did you really like yours?” Scorpius asked. “I wasn’t really sure.”

“They were perfect. Better than I could have chosen myself…. Come on, let’s go back in. I’m starting to get a little chilly.”

When they got back in the house Harry was wearing a beret and Ginny a new scarf Scorpius had found when he was shopping for Lily’s gift, and they and Draco were all drinking something golden and sparkling.

Draco held up the glass, “Harry’s been brewing his own hard cider. Very muggle-like… and pretty good, too.”

“Thanks for the compliment” Harry said, trying to adjust the beret.

“Dad, I don’t think you really have to wear that.” Jamie said.

“Why not? Draco picked it specially. Do you think it’s not a serious gift?” He asked with a smirk.

“Because I knew just how much you’d enjoy it, Potter.” Draco added with teasing sarcasm.

Scorpius and Jamie just looked at each other. Whatever the relationship was that had developed between their dads, it was odd. That’s for sure.

“What’s that you have there?” Draco asked Scorpius

“It’s a restored Firebolt C Jamie found it for me.” Scorpius showed off his gift.

“That’s amazing. I remember…” then Draco stopped not really wanting to go any further. “It’s really beautiful Jamie. A really thoughtful gift.”

“Come on,” Jamie said, “Let’s go flying, maybe play a little quidditch.”

“That sounds like a great idea” Ginny agreed, “We’ve got at least some extra brooms. Why don’t you join us Draco?”

Scorpius looked at his dad with puppy eyes.

“Okay. Yes. All right. Let me just put on some more appropriate attire.” And he left to change.

Harry looked at Scorpius, “You were right about the clothing. I think this is the third outfit since yesterday afternoon?”

“I told you, and we have a few more hours to go. He’ll have something else to wear for dinner and another change for travel.” Scorpius laughed shaking his head.

 

\------^^^^------

 

They’d just finished a rousing Quidditch match when the Weasley-Grangers arrived.

“Oi, Potters” Ron yelled up at them. “Fancy some take away?” He motioned holding up bags of food.

Ginny flew down, “Is it time already? I’m sorry, the afternoon just got away from us. Let me pull things together.”

“We’ve got it” Hermione said, from the kitchen door. “Supper will be on in ten.”

Everyone landed and headed inside, and Scorpius still hadn’t released his new broom.

“What’s that you’ve got there?” Ron asked him.

“Oh, it’s a vintage Firebolt. Jamie found it for me.”

“Did he?” Ron looked impressed, “That’s something. How’s it fly?”

“Nice. It’s not balanced as neatly as the new ones, and it’s not quite as tight in the maneuvers… but when it gets going it has a really beautiful ride.”

“Well, I’m green. Definitely.” He said looking at Jamie who had started blushing a little.

“What’d Albus come up with for you, Phoebe?” Ron asked, not overly concerned with boundaries.

Phoebe held up her wrist exposing a bracelet.

“Jewelry. Good choice.” He nodded at Albus, who also managed to blush. Ron did seem to know how to corner his nephews.

Supper was an extraordinarily casual affair, as everyone filled their plates with curry house take-away and found seating in the sitting room. Rose and Hugo got the run-down of the day’s events and filled everyone in on their gifts.

“So, what’s this Albus mentioned about you going on some dig next summer?” Harry asked Scorpius.

“Oh, it’s not really a big deal. A friend of Dad’s is running a dig up in the Hebrides, some celtic sites, and I’m probably going to go up to work on it a little.” Scorpius said, trying to downplay the plan.

“How long?” Jamie asked.

“Just a month, really not long… and you’ll be in Auror training, right?” Scorpius pointed out.

“Yeah, I guess I will. Assuming I get in.”

“Of course you will.” Ron jumped in, “You’ve got great marks, and excellent references” He looked at Harry and Hermione.

Jamie nodded.

“When do you think we’ll get our marks?” Rose asked, overhearing part of the conversation.

“You hoping to rub everyone’s face in it?” Albus needled her, making her blush a little.

“No…. not especially… just you.” She poked back.

“Okay then…I’m going to get started on the dishes.” Harry said, rising and beginning to bus the room.

“I’ll lend a hand,” Ron added, and then the adults were rising and pulling together the remnants of the meal so that they could leave the kids to their banter.

“It’s a really nice night out, wanna’ do a little more flying?” Jamie asked Scorpius.

“Sure, actually, I have something I want to show you.”

“Really?” He had a sly look.

“Easy…. You’ll see… Come on, then.” Scorpius pulled Jamie to grab their stuff and head and out the back door.

When they got out back Jamie turned to Scorpius, “So, what is it?”

Scorpius was quiet and held out his hand, turning his index finger up and looking intently at it. “ _Lumos_ ” he said, and a light began to glow just above the tip of his index finger. Then he flicked it and the light rose up into the air like a little lantern, then dissipated when he countered with “Nox.”

“How long have you been able to do that?” Jamie asked.

“Just about a week…. Williams said I should try it, and so I just started working on it. It actually came pretty easy. Cool huh?”

“Fuck, yeah. Can you do more than one?”

“I don’t know.. haven’t tried it.”

“Well, try, then” Jamie was so excited he nearly yelled it out as a command.

Scorpius started laughing, “Okay, okay….”

So, he gave it another go, and was able to summon and float three lights. They emitted a soft, yellow light, and hovered about eight feet above the ground. Jamie and Scorpius just looked at them a while, admiring the glow.

“You’re amazing, Scor.”

“I know.” Scorpius answered casually, “So, are we going to fly, or what?”

“Yeah… Oh, I forgot my gloves, they’re not in my pockets.” Jamie noticed. “I think they’re just inside.”

As they walked in the front door of the house, they could hear Harry and Hermione in animated conversation in Harry’s study just off the front foyer.

“I know Zabini’s competent ‘Mione, but he’s definitely lacking in tact. I spent spent half the afternoon on Thursday with Cooper trying to smooth things over. Apparently, whatever he said to his contact at the MI’s put a major kink in her day… which caused a major kink in mine. Isn’t there anything you can do?”

“You know there’s not. He’s a pain in the ass, but he’s also a terrific negotiator. What he lacks in tact he more than makes up for in strategic skill. We need him right where he is.” She reminded him.

“Fine. I know….”

“So, any more news on this dragon blood issue?” She asked.

“We’re not sure, it’s so spotty right now. Just a couple of incidents here and there…. We’re just not seeing any particular pattern… And Cooper’s not getting anything more on her end, either…. But you know her, that doesn’t seem to put her off.”

“And what about this kid at Hogwarts, O’Connor?”

“Dan? He seems to be okay… wasn’t any help, though, in terms of information. I think he may have been obliviated… We tried the pensive, but didn’t get anything.”

Scorpius and Jamie looked at each other and didn’t need to say anything out loud to know they were both thinking the same thing. Jamie was not the only person who thought there was more to this than met the eye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter -- New Year's at the Malfoy's, because what's the fun of having that house if you can't throw a party?


	7. New Year's News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's nearly the new year, and Jamie and Scorpius are pulling together bits and pieces of information.

When he got to his room Jamie tossed his bag on to his bed, looked around, and tried to loosen up his shoulders. He didn’t know why he was tense. He was actually looking forward to spending the rest of the holiday in London, although sometimes being in Grimmauld Place made him feel cooped up. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he had spent a disturbing amount of time over the past two and a half weeks thinking about Scorpius. It had only been two days, three if you counted Wednesday as a full day, since he’d seen him last, and he was already counting the days until Friday when he’d see him again. He was going to have to come up with some sort of way to deal with this because it was feeling a little like an obsession, and that wasn’t something Jamie wanted to have.

Not that Scorpius wasn’t worth obsessing over, because many things about him were definitely worth obsessing over, but Jamie just wasn’t used to thinking about anyone with this kind of intensity or regularity. The power the delicious little git had over him was ridiculous. He had recently found himself jumping every time he heard something that sounded even remotely like an owl at the window. He took a deep breath and decided he needed to stretch his legs.

Jamie checked himself in the mirror to make sure he was muggle acceptable, grabbed a jacket and some muggle currency, and headed out into London hoping the sea of people and sound would help distract him for at least an hour or so until their guests arrived. For a while he just focused on nothing, letting the steady thump of his own feet and the chill of the December day clear his head. After about fifteen minutes he started to feel a bit less on edge and let his mind wander. Besides his persistent and distracting focus of attention, the other thing on his mind was Professor Williams and his daughter who were set to arrive that afternoon.

Those two definitely sparked his curiosity. First, because he was not buying the whole, "They were visiting London and McGonagall suggested we host them” line his parents tried feeding them, and second, Williams was just interesting. Or, maybe the words should be 'of interest.' Jamie had tried doing a little digging on him after Scorpius mentioned that he thought his dad knew Williams better than he was letting on and came up with nothing. And, not nothing in the, ‘ _he’s dull, the only thing there is to say is what you might imagine kind of way,’_ but the nothing as in ‘ _there are gaps there that are seem to be papered over with half-assed attempts at a story.’_

Jamie worked backward through the information he’d been able to pull together. Prior to arriving at Hogwarts, Williams had been an instructor at the New Amsterdam School for five years, at least up until two years ago, when he left and does not seem to have held an obvious job until Hogwarts. Before his time at the New Amsterdam school he apparently held miscellaneous jobs with the US Department of Magical Affairs, most of which seem to have been related to international cooperation and exchange activities. It could be regarded as simply a rather pedestrian CV, a bureaucrat who became a teacher, but in Jamie’s mind it was also just hazy enough to indicate that there might be something more interesting below the surface. Not to mention that Williams was definitely not the picture of a quill scratcher.

A crisp breeze hit his face as he turned the corner, and Jamie dug his hands down into his pockets. No, when you added Williams to the discussion his Dad and Hermione had the other night and the weirdly unexplained disappearance and reappearance of Dan, it was all kind of odd. A shiver ran through him, and he realized he was getting cold. He stopped in a coffee shop and ordered a cup and biscotti.

When his order was ready he found a seat near the window, grabbed a muggle newspaper, and began to flip through the pages while he dunked the crunchy biscuits into the milky drink. The thing he liked best about being out in the muggle world was that no one knew him here, not one person. No one looked in his direction and there was not one article in their newspapers about his dad or mum or anyone he knew personally. He was completely anonymous. If someone looked at him they were just looking, that’s all.

Muggle studies was something of a joke in his opinion. Just three weeks ago Jamie sat through a NEWT examination on the topic which covered not one thing immediately relevant to muggles or living in the muggle world. Besides which, given the extent to which witches and wizards avoided contact with muggles, most of what they did learn would serve no purpose, and if they did happen to interact with muggles they’d probably find that their knowledge was either out of date or hopelessly limited. If the wizarding world wanted to know about muggles they needed to get out and spend some time amongst muggles.

It seemed to Jamie that it was the pervasive avoidance of muggles, by all witches and wizards, that led directly to the problems of the last Wizarding War. It was true enough that the Death Eaters were the aggressors, but if they all didn’t mostly avoid non-magical people there’d be no stigma attached to being muggle born or a squib. On the other hand, muggles didn’t react well to evidence of magic or understand it particularly well and often either attributed random events to magic (Black cats? Really?) or come up with bizarre reasons for perfectly normal spells and charms (A _Lumos_  charm is not extra-terrestrial). And, he didn’t even want to think about the things that happened before the magical world separated from the muggle world.

The lights turning on in the streets reminded him of the time and pushed him to head back home. He didn’t want to be late and have to answer a bunch of questions about where he’d been. His muggle excursions were more or less a secret. It wasn’t that he thought his parents would expressly forbid him, but he didn’t always tell them what he was up to or where he was going and he liked it that way.

Jamie felt the thud of someone’s shoulder bumping hard against his.

“Oi, watch where you’re going, there, right?” The man yelled at him, just like he was any other stranger.

“Sorry…” Jamie returned.

It really was nice to get a break from the Potters, and being a Potter, every once in a while.

 

\------^^^^------

 

The flutter of sandy wings interrupted Scorpius’ evening reading. When the bird settled Scorpius reached up and gave Gawain a little pet behind the ear. They were becoming fast friends, and he could swear that the owl perked up a little in his company. Of course the owl’s fondness could have been related to the fact that Scorpius was always generous with treats, too.

Scorpius untied and opened the latest letter from Jamie.

_Scor,_

_Well, Williams and Zora finally arrived - two hours late (note for us, muggle air-transport has an issue with timeliness). Of course, mum didn’t want to serve dinner until they came, so by the time they arrived I was practically eating my own hands off. Ten more minutes and I probably would have smuggled in take away._

_Here’s the update, as promised:_

_She’s not exactly what I expected. She is nice, which I did expect, but she’s also much more talkative than he is. I think you’ll like her. In fact, I’m sure you will. One thing you’ll REALLY like is that her mom works in the central branch of the New York Public Library. That’s right, book bug, she basically has 24-7 access to a huge supply of books… books, Scorpius. I might need to keep an eye on you so you don’t run off with her. Most interesting, her mom is a muggle. Let me say that again…. Professor Williams was married to a muggle, and Zora is half-muggle. She said that Williams was from some kind of prominent wizarding family and they basically disowned him when he married Zora’s mom. It was a major dust-up and now she doesn’t see his family at all._

Scorpius thought that jibed with what he knew of Williams. He did seem like the type to go all the way for something he believed in. Scorpius also knew from watching his dad that never seeing your family could take a toll, even when they’d done completely unforgivable things.

He continued reading the letter.

_She’s also kind of a squib. She doesn’t have much in the way of magical skills, but she’s a fantastic artist and she can do this thing where if she holds your hands and you tell her about someone she can see them. So, she works for the aurors in New York and helps them with suspect descriptions and such. It’s actually pretty interesting. She did it with me. Got me to talk about someone I’d seen in a cafe that afternoon and she drew him as if she’d been sitting there herself. You need to see it. It’s pretty remarkable, and a fun party trick._

_Also, since she grew up living with her mum, she lives most of the time kind of like a muggle. She has mostly muggle friends, watches a lot of television and movies, and was kind of shocked that we don’t and that we aren’t up on all that stuff, like muggle celebrities and such. And, she uses a muggle ‘smartphone,’ you know the ones. It’s actually pretty interesting… with all the things muggles are doing with their technology, before long there won’t be that much difference between what we can do and what they can do – at least for some things._

_Anyway, she made herself at home right away, and I think we’ll actually have some fun while she’s in town. Maybe we can get together and all go out for a day or two… do some sight-seeing or something. I know Lily would be very keen on that. She’s already developed a bit of a girl-crush on Zora._

_Well, you’ll see what I mean when we get there on Friday. I hope your dad hasn’t been driving you mad with all the prep. From what you’ve said it seems like he can get a bit over the top with the party planning. I think my parents are looking forward to it. I caught Mum trying on several different dresses, which is atypical for her (but, I did hear that your dad invited Dean Thomas, and mom always seems to get weird when he’s around)._

_I wish you were here. Why don’t you come stay over sometime next week? Maybe it can be a reward for your marks. I’m sure you did great on your practice OWLS., and we should those soon…. Maybe tomorrow? In any case, imagining you is not the same thing as seeing you._

_Jamie_

_PS: Do you still have that bow?_

Scorpius smiled to himself. He did still have the bow. He’d stashed it in his bedside table when they got back from Christmas.

 

\------^^^^------

 

On Thursday the marks from Hogwarts were delivered, and the owls were flying.

Scorpius, of course, did exceptionally well, earning O’s in Arithmancy, History of Magic, Astronomy, Runes and Magical Languages, and DADA and E’s in Charms, Advanced Potions and Transfiguration. Jamie earned the O’s on his Charms and Muggle Studies NEWTs he expected and an E in Potions. He was tossing up sitting for the Potions exam again to try to raise the mark to an O. Albus was thrilled to have earned O’s in Magical Creatures, Herbology, and Transfiguration; E’s in Charms, Muggle Studies, Potions and DADA; and an A in Divination; the last of which he absolutely loathed and was just struggling through until he could get to sixth year when he could take a double in Magical Creatures. Rose, of course, earned all O’s and E’s matching Scorpius’ marks and simply regretting that she didn’t earn an O in Muggle Studies. She was sure that only happened because she simply didn’t take the class seriously enough. All in all, the news put everyone in a decidedly celebratory mood when Friday rolled around.

By Friday afternoon, Scorpius and Draco were like a pair of lions stalking around Malfoy Manor. Everything was in place or ready for the evening, so there was nothing left to do except pace and wait on guests. Neither of them were any good at patiently waiting. Finally, Scorpius suggested they take their brooms out and go flying. He wanted to give the Firebolt C another go round, anyway.

They both changed into flying gear and kicked off. Scorpius loved flying with his dad. It was something they both enjoyed, and it had the handy benefit of not requiring any conversation… So, it was completely free of awkward moments. The rushing air was chilly but invigorating, and they both had some fun doing silly tricks and daring each other to try some new stunts. Draco often seemed a lot older than his years, but when he got on a broom it was like he was fifteen again. He completely shed all his “responsible father-isms” and just had fun.

“Okay, Scorpius, here’s one!” he shouted, starting into a long corkscrew maneuver that turned and dove toward the ground.

Scorpius knew this was a challenge and followed after, mimicking his dad’s moves and hanging on to the broom. The Firebolt was in good condition but it was still not the same as a new broom, and Scorpius could feel it straining against the centrifugal forces and gravity with some of the twists and turns.

As his dad turned back toward the Manor he began to pick up speed, and Scorpius knew he was going to go in for a fly-by. He followed as well as he could, watching his dad pick up speed and nudge as close to the ground and structures as he could. He wondered what his mom would be thinking if she saw his dad now. Some of the things he was doing were definitely less than safe…

Draco then took a big swing up into the air, and turned to sweep down toward the forecourt, gathering speed as he went. As he got close to the ground, there was suddenly someone apperating in the safe zone they’d opened there for guest arrivals. Whoever it was must have seen the blur of Draco out of the corner of their eye because they quickly ducked while Draco pulled up sharply to avoid a collision.

“ _Mother Fucker!_ ” Williams yelled “What are you doing Drac?”

Scorpius nearly fell off his broom before he could land. If he hadn’t started laughing so hard at the shock of hearing his Head of House and Professor scream obscenities at the top of his lungs he would have probably passed out from shock. Of course, he was also surprised to hear Williams use his dad’s first name… and a nickname at that. How’d that happen?

When Draco landed he simply stated with a playful, semi-sneer, “You’re early.”

“Yeah, well, not that early. Do you know what time it is?”

Draco checked, realizing that it was actually much later than he thought. “Oh. I see.”

“Yeah. Exactly.” Williams shook his head with a smile.

Scorpius looked at his dad and at Williams hoping for some kind of explanation for the familiarity, but didn’t get one because at the next minute another figure apperated into the forecourt.

“Draco and Scorpius Malfoy, this is my daughter, Zora.” Williams introduced a tall, very attractive young woman. Jamie hadn’t mentioned how good looking she was. Scorpius guessed she was nearly his height and she had the most beautiful almond shaped eyes. If she looked anything like her mother Scorpius could see why Williams would give up his family for her… and, of course, she was also a librarian. If there was ever a chance that Scorpius was going to like women… a librarian who looked like that… Jamie did say something about having to keep an eye on him…

He didn’t get much further down that line of thought before he came back to the present and realized he was supposed to be shaking Zora’s hand.

“Oh, I’m so happy to meet you….. I’ve actually already heard about you.” He blurted, wondering if that was rude.

She just smiled and laughed, “Already? So, was it Jamie or Albus who told you? They both talked about you pretty incessantly. From what they said, you might be the highlight of the trip.”

Scorpius started blushing furiously. “Oh, I hope I’m not a let-down, then… I’m basically just…” then he motioned to himself, “me.”

“Well, ‘me’… Why don’t you show me inside? Looks like our dads are already catching up, and Dad said he’d take care of the bags.”

Scorpius looked over and realized that they were already deep in conversation about something. Scorpius was fairly certain it wasn’t an extensive chat about what a wonderful student he was, though.

“Sure, right this way.”

Scorpius took Zora on a tour of the Manor while he showed her where she’d be staying the night, making sure to point out the gallery with the family portraits, the conservatory where he kept his telescope, and the library, his three favorite rooms.

“It’s very large.” She commented.

“It is. My dad’s always lived here. His family built it a little over 250 years ago. If it wasn’t already in the family, I’m not sure he would have chosen something like this. I’m actually pretty certain he wouldn’t have.”

“What do you think he would have liked?”

“Mmm…” Scorpius thought about it, “I think he would prefer to live in the city, actually. I mean, he does like the grounds, but most of his interests and hobbies are more related to city life. So, it would probably be more convenient for him to be in the city. And, we don’t use most of the space here….”

“Why do you think he stays?” She asked.

“I’m not really sure. It’s where I grew up, so maybe for me…. Maybe because of my mom…. It’s where we lived together.” Scorpius started to get a little distracted by that, wondering if he was holding his dad in a place that reminded him of what he’d lost.

“I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to…” She started.

“Oh, it’s okay. I actually hadn’t really thought about it. Other than that the house is huge and we don’t really use it much. I don’t know what he’ll do once I’m out of school…“ He paused. “I really don’t know.”

Scorpius was about to take Zora through to the north wing when he heard his father come in behind them.

“There you are…. I’ve come to collect you. Our guests are starting to arrive… Duty calls.”

The next few hours were a bustle of activity. This year’s event was going to be a little larger than previous years because Draco had agreed to allow Scorpius to invite a number of his own guests, which he hadn’t done in the past. Most of the guests were only coming for the evening, but about twenty of the guests were going to be spending the night including the Potters, the Zabinis, Professor Williams and Zora and the Weasley-Grangers.

Scorpius was trying to figure out how it had happened that his dad had become friendly enough with Rose’s parents to have their entire family stay the night when a voice broke his thought.

“And you want me to believe it’s your dad who’s obsessed with the party planning?”

Jamie. A nice warm feeling spread through Scorpius at the sound of his voice, and he turned to see his boyfriend with his head cocked to the side and a slightly accusatory look on his face.

“I think you can probably let your dad take it from here, right?” Jamie was pulling Scorpius by the hand, “Come on, I’m about to thrash Albus at some shrieking snooker.”

Scorpius let himself be pulled to the red parlor, a room they’d furnished with a variety of gaming tables and which he’d convinced his dad to sort of reserve for his friends for the night. Lily and Hugo had resumed their ongoing exploding snap rivalry at a card table, Carlos and Rose were deep in a game of Wizarding Chess, and Albus was gamely trying to match his brother in their current snooker frame.

Jamie had nearly won when Phoebe arrived.

“Hey,” Albus welcomed them, his face lighting at Phoebe’s arrival. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and moved back to take his turn at the table.

In a minute the frame was complete, and Jamie had won. “At least it wasn’t as lopsided as the last.” Jamie said, not being able to resist a brotherly tease as Albus turned his attention to his girlfriend.

“Oh well, I’ll just have to find other things to make my life worthwhile.” He said circling Phoebe with his arm and making her blush.

Jamie rolled his eyes and turned to Scorpius, “So, you haven’t taken me on a tour, yet. I think I’m due.”

Scorpius smiled and pulled Jamie along to show him around the Manor, focusing first on the more public parts of the house. He hit a lot of the high points he’d covered with Zora earlier. When they got to the library, Scorpius slowed down, showing Jamie some of his favorites, including a few he’d received from his mom, who not only gave him many books as a child, but also left a full list of books for Draco to give to Scorpius each year at Christmas.

Jamie looked at the books admiringly, “It seems like she knew you really well.”

“She did. She was… she was good at that. Not just with me, but she really paid attention to people.”

“Like you.”

“I don’t think I’m that good at that.”

“Yes you are. You see people for who they are. That’s why Albus was friends with you from the start, I think.”

Scorpius looked at Jamie thinking that he didn’t often talk like that about his brother. They had become closer over the last year, a lot closer, but there was still sometimes a gap, and Scorpius suspected Albus didn’t know the depth to which Jamie thought of him.

Jamie pulled Scorpius closer, “It makes people feel good...”

“Does it?" Scorpius said, curling into Jamie’s warmth.

“Feeling like you’re really noticed… It makes people feel good.” He said again.

“People notice you all the time.” Scorpius said.

“Nah... They see who they think I am. That’s different.”

Scorpius wasn’t really sure what to say to that, especially since he mainly just wanted to kiss Jamie by then. So, he did.

Then he kissed Jamie again, and then again, and before too long they were engaged in a very nice session of kissing with their hands gently caressing each other, sliding in and out of warm embraces. Scorpius loved these moments with Jamie, so warm and affectionate, and when they were close like this he completely forgot the persistent trove of things that weighed on his mind.

They were so involved with one another that Scorpius barely heard the footsteps and voices approaching. Scorpius realized they weren’t going to be able to get out of the room elegantly and they were not exactly in a state that would pass close inspection. So, he grabbed Jamie and pulled him into a closet near the rear of the room just as the door to the hall entered.

He held his hand over Jamie’s mouth so that they could both focus on who it was. Two of them were their respective fathers, another was Hermoine, and the last was Professor Williams.

“How much longer do you think your team is going to be needing access to my warehouse in Aberdeen?” Draco asked, adding, “My manager there’s tolerant, but I’m sure he’s getting suspicious.”

“The chatter we’re hearing indicates that something could break in the next four months or so... Probably no more than six. Things are definitely building,” Harry responded. “What are you hearing, Lin?”

“Our side’s getting more or less the same information.” Professor Williams answered.

There was a pause and the sound of people shifting their weight.

“Draco, you know you’re our best resource here.” Hermione added.

“Oh, I’m aware,” Draco commented warily, “and I give you the nice cover of someone who could plausibly be up to no good.”

No one said anything to that, and Draco eventually continued, “Well, I’m sure I can come up with something. You think you’ll need a full six months?”

“Probably not, but could do,” Harry responded.

“Well, I’ll take care of it, then.” Draco finished. “I’ll connect with you, Harry, on any new details?”

“Yes”

With that, the group moved out of the room.

Jamie broke the silence first, “Are they gone?” he asked Scorpius, not being in the best position to see if the room was clear.

Scorpius confirmed the room was clear and pulled Jamie out of the closet.

“What do you make of that?” Scorpius asked.

“Interesting as hell… that’s for sure, but beyond that. I don’t know.” Jamie thought, “It goes some way toward explaining what they were all doing together in Hogsmeade in the fall.”

“Whatever it is, they’re watching something that requires shipping warehouses… If it wasn’t that, they wouldn’t need my dad, right?” Scorpius added.

“Definitely, and I suppose it might link to the dragon’s blood thing they were talking about on Sunday.” Jamie added.

Scorpius looked at Jamie and could see the wheels turning in his mind and the excitement building, and he knew they were all about to go down a rabbit hole of Jamie’s invention.

“Do you think we should talk with the others? I’m wondering how much it ties to Dan and that stuff.” Jamie started.

“You think it does.”

“I think that’s probably why they were talking about Dan and the dragon’s blood thing together the other day, why they met in Hogsmeade before, and potentially why Williams has a job at our school. Sometimes things are just coincidences, but mostly they’re not.”

Scorpius smiled to himself, “Okay then. Who do you think?”

“I’m thinking Albus and Rose because how can we not? Carlos would be helpful, he has that thingy he does plus his Dad’s at DMLE. Michael’s been helping out already, and we could also use Ben Abbot because he’d add someone in 6th.”

“Well, Carlos, Albus and Rose are here now, so…” Scorpius pointed out.

“Yeah, let’s go, then.” They were just about to leave the room when Jamie stopped in his tracks with a silly smile on his face. “So, you didn’t show me which one.”

“Which one?” Scorpius asked.

“The one you were locked in.”

“Oh…. “ Scorpius laughed, “It was the third one, over there.”

“Oh,” Jamie said sounding disappointed, “I guess it’s too small to reenact with you, then.”

Scorpius pulled Jamie in for a teasing kiss, “Yes, I guess you’ll just have to live with having been stuck in the closet with me instead.”

“Can we go back for more later? I feel like we didn’t get to take full advantage.”

Scorpius rolled his eyes and gave Jamie a playful push, “We’ll see… we have all night.”

“Good…. Then let’s go talk to the others so we can get back to the tour. We haven’t seen your room yet, either, you know… or that gift your uncle got you.”

“I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter's a light one... Bits and pieces of conversation from the party.


	8. New Year's Bits and Pieces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snippets of conversation at the Malfoy New Year's Eve Party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thought I'd play with something different... just dialogue.

“Teddy! You made it!”

“Here in the flesh… So, this is what the Manor looks like. Can’t believe your mom actually got your dad to come here.”

“I know. Hugo thinks he might be here to secretly sabotage something.”

“Ha. Ha… Where is everyone?”

“Not sure. I saw Albus and Jamie just a few minutes ago, but they’ve run off. Hugo’s spending the evening trailing after my Professor’s daughter."

 

**********

 

“So, this is it, huh? The mystery gift from Cousin Bernard”

“Yes, it is.”

“It’s comprehensive, isn’t it…. Oh…. This one you’ve already learnt, I think.”

“You liked that.”

“Mmm…. What about this one?”

“You’d like that?”

“I think I would…. Or, maybe this…. I’d like to try this one on you.”

“Maybe we should make a list.”

“That’s very Slytherin of you… very ambitious.”

“We aim to be the best.”

“I guess that makes me the lucky one, then.”

“Indeed.”

“Oh, look at this… I guess this has a name… The French think of everything.”

 

**********

 

“Hugo, that better be pumpkin juice.”

“Yeah, mum.”

 

**********

  
“Are you sure no one will find us here?”

“I don’t think so. Do you even know where we are?”

“No, but it’s not my house, Albus.”

“Not mine, either… I don’t think anyone’s going to wander down here …….”

 

**********

 

“What is Parkinson up to?”

“I don’t know, Gin. Maybe she’s had too much to drink….Maybe it’s habit. She was always draped over Malfoy at school.”

“You’re too kind, ‘Mione. Do you think one of us should tell her those two are seeing each other?”

“You think so? I kind of suspected, but I wasn’t sure.”

“I don’t know, but they’ve been together most of the night, and kind of Harry implied in his very sideways way…”

“No, let’s just let her go. It’ll be fun for us to watch.”

“Besides, if she knew, it’d probably just egg her on.”

 

**********

 

“Oh, Albus!”

“Hugo! What are you doing here?”

“Oh… Sorry…. Sorry… Phoebe…”

“Did Zora lose you or something?”

“Actually, I was looking for her. Did you see her around here?”

“No, Hugo. I did not!”

“Okay… Merlin, Albus… You don’t have to yell.”

 

**********

 

“Hi, I’m Teddy.”

“I’m Zora.”

“I see you lost my cousin Hugo.”

“Oh, is that his name?.... I’m not sure where he went.”

 

**********

 

“Harry, What is that Zabini is wearing?”

“Not your style, Ron?”

“No.”

 

**********

 

“Rose, Is that one of your uncles?”

“That’s my uncle Bill.”

“Are those his other kids?”

“Yes, that’s Louis and Dominque, Victoire’s their sister. They go to Bauxbatons….”

“Oh…”

“Would you like to meet them, Carlos?”

“Sure.”

 

**********

 

“Hey, Scorpius, where’ve you been?’

“Jamie wanted to see a little more of the house. You having fun?”

“It’s interesting. Did you see what Carlos’ dad is wearing?”

“No, but he has kind of his own style, I guess.”

“I think he’s confused my dad. Hey, who’s that?”

“Oh, I think her name is Vivienne. Her parents are moving here. They’re with the French foreign delegation.”

“Really?”

“You want to meet her, Rose?”

“Maybe.”

 

**********

 

“Hugo, what’s that you’ve got there?”

“Pumpkin juice.”

“It had better be.”

 

**********

 

“I knew all that staring last summer wasn’t just you keeping an eye out for Albus”

“If you knew that, Teddy, why didn’t you say something?”

“You never would have admitted it.”

“True…. So, you met Zora”

“I did.”

 

**********

 

“Hi, I don’t think we’ve met, I’m Carlos.”

“Zabini… that’s your dad inside.”

“Yeah, that’s my dad.”

“I’m Louis.”

“I know, Rose told me.”

“Funny, she told me who you were, too.”

 

**********

 

“Albus, have you seen Teddy?”

“Not recently, Lils.”

“He owes me a game of snap.”

“I’m sure he’s around here somewhere.”

 

**********

 

“Gin, did you see? I think Pansy’s moved on.”

“Oh?”

“She’s cornered Blaise and Isabella.”

“Good grief, ‘Mione…. Do you think she’d proposition both of them?”

“I don’t know… maybe?”

“Do you think they’d go for it?”

“Possibly. They might be her best shot.”

“If she’s here at breakfast I might not be able to eat.”

 

**********

 

“Is your dad really planning to set of fireworks?”

“Oh yes. He’s very serious about ringing in the New Year.”

“Do you think we can squeeze in a return trip to the library? I think we were interrupted last time.”

“I think we’ve got time. You have something in particular in mind?”

“Page trente-neuf”

 

**********

 

“How do you know this house?”

“Scorpius gave me a tour earlier today. We got here early. He’s seeing your cousin, right?”

“He’s not exactly my cousin. Jamie’s parents are my Godparents.”

“Do you hear something?”

“I’m not sure.”

“I’m pretty certain someone’s in that closet.”

“Should we open it?”

“Well, given the reasons someone… or someones…. might be in the closet, I’m thinking ‘no.’”

“Probably a good idea.”

“Why don’t I show you the conservatory instead?”

 

**********

 

“Hugo, is that pumpkin juice?”

“Merlin, Uncle Harry… Why does everyone keep asking me that?”

 

**********

 

“I like your hair.”

“Thanks, I like your hair, too. I’m Vi, who are you?”

“I’m Lily.”

“Do you go to Hogwarts, Lily?”

“I do. Do you?”

“Not yet, but I’ll be starting there in January. We just moved here from the States.”

“Oh. What year are you in?”

“6th. How about you?”

“3rd. My brother Jamie’s in 7th and my other brother Albus is in 5th… and my cousin Rose is in 5th, too. I can introduce you.”

“Sure, that’d be nice.”

 

**********

  
“Dad… Professor Williams…”

“Call me Lin, Scorpius. We’re not in class, remember.”

“Right… Lin…”

“I’m glad we found you Scorpius, I need you to help me let the guests know the fireworks will start in about ten minutes.”

“Sure, Dad. We’ll let them know.”

 

**********

 

“Albus, who’s that guy Carlos is talking to?”

“Oh, that’s my cousin, Louis.”

“They look deep in conversation.”

“They do.”

 

**********

 

“Rose, this is Vi, she’s going to be going to Hogwarts starting in January.”

“Hi. I’m Rose.”

“Hi, Vi.”

“Oh, and there’s my brother Jamie and Scorpius.”

“Where have they been? Albus was looking for them.”

“Was he? I’ll go find him and let him know they’re back. See you, Rose and Vi.”

“So that one, Jamie’s your cousin?”

“Yes, and Scorpius is his boyfriend.”

“I kind of guessed that.”

“Oh”

“And, what about you? Anyone here with you?”

 

**********

 

“Happy New Year.”

“Happy New Year to you, too.”

 

 


	9. Losing Our Hold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone's back at Hogwarts, and January brings cold weather and sour moods... maybe a little more than usual this year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Starting to go with shorter chapters - Don't hate me, but I may repost this so that I can break up some of the earlier ones... so that it's a little easier to read. If I do, I'll make sure to let everyone know what the new chapter order is.

_Scorpius was flying. No, he was falling. Just a moment ago he had been flying through warm air on his broom and then not on his broom. Just flying and laughing and then the warmth went away and it was dark, and he couldn’t see where he was falling, just that it was coming faster and faster. His heart was racing as he kept plunging downward. The decent just kept going on and on. He was terrified that it would never stop and that it would. If he could just reach out and find something to hold on to. Where was it? Where did it go? It was just there, if he could just reach… He needed…_

“Scorpius… Scorpius… Wake up.”

Albus. Albus was shaking him awake. No, Albus was trying to wake him up and hold him still. He was doing the shaking. It was a nightmare.

“Scorpius. Are you awake?” Albus asked, his green eyes working into Scorpius’ fuzzy consciousness. “Are you okay?”

“I am. I’m… “ Scorpius was trying to pull his thoughts back together “I’m sorry. Did I wake you up?”

“It’s okay…. You okay?”

Scorpius took a deep breath. “I guess so… I think so… I’m sorry.”

“Hey. You know it’s okay. Really.” Albus lay down in Scorpius’ bed, pushing him a little to the side. “It’s always okay, and I’m always here, right? You know.” He rubbed Scorpius’ arm a bit, soothing him.

Scorpius took another breath. “I know. Thanks.”

Albus gave him a little hug before rolling back out of the bed, “Anytime. That’s what I’m here for. You sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, really. You can go back to sleep. I’ll try not to have another.”

“No worries if you do.” Albus said as he snuggled back down in his own bed. “I’m right here.” And he smiled at his best friend.

Scorpius rolled over and tried to fall back asleep but failed miserably. Eventually, he gave up and checked the time: five-thirty. This wasn’t the first sleepless night he’d had since they got back to school three weeks ago, but over the past week it had grown particularly bad. He hadn’t slept more than four hours a night over the past five or six days. He couldn’t pinpoint any reason other than the slow-build of exam pressure and the mid-winter insanity that usually gripped Hogwarts from the end of January through February.

He conjured a little light and made his way to the bathroom, jealously watching Albus who’d fallen back into his typical deep sleep. He could probably talk to Albus about it… if he could manage to get him up in time for breakfast.

When he got in the shower he let the jets of water pound on his head, hoping the steady drumbeat against his skull would drive out the constant chatter that had been keeping him up night after night. Exams were a solid three months away, but he couldn’t help but feel like he was falling behind. He really should be further ahead in his studying, but he was just constantly short on time. His quidditch practices had started up the week before, and the team was looking pretty rusty after the break. Even so, he wasn’t sure he was going to be retained as an alternate in the coming year, much less earn a regular spot on the team. He’d been continuing his work with Williams, but that just seemed to be inching along, and he wondered how much longer it would be worth it for Williams to invest in his squibish wandless abilities. Add to all of it the fact that Valentine’s Day was coming up in just a week, and he had no idea what Jamie expected of him. Objectively, things were going well, but he couldn’t shake a nagging feeling that he was falling short in some way.

Scorpius scrubbed his scalp hard, trying to loosen his brain and let some fresh thinking in, but more and more was bubbling to the surface. He jumped out of the shower and gave himself a good toweling off… nope, still there. In fact, a new item joined the list, the ongoing “Jamie Potter Investigation” as Scorpius had taken to calling it privately. They’d been tracking their classmates for three solid weeks now, and there was nothing to come up with unless you counted general suspicion, grouchiness and inter-house spats as something.

When they got back in January all the Prefects had been assigned extra duties to try to ensure that there wasn’t a repeat of last term’s “supplement” problem, and it only took about three days before everyone knew about what had happened to Dan. Jamie, of course, didn’t trust the Prefects since they’d all be chosen by their Heads of House for miscellaneous reasons having little to do with student welfare. In any case, he’d recruited a little “off the books” group, Albus, Scorpius, Rose, Phoebe, Carlos, Michael Creevy, Ben Abbot, Elizabeth Corner, Paul Flint and Rose’s new friend, Vi (even though Jamie wasn’t sold on the idea, Rose insisted) and they all met twice a week to compare notes. Everyone had the same notes: people are going stir crazy, everyone’s tense… in other words, a typical January.

Once he was dressed, Scorpius gave Albus a little poke.

“Hey, come on…” he loudly whispered, “You’ve got 20 minutes to get ready for breakfast.”

No movement.

“Phoebe will be waiting.” Scorpius tried temptation, and it worked. One eye opened and scanned the room, settling on Scorpius.

“Uhhhhggggaaahhhh…” Albus moaned and stretched. “It’ can’t really be Monday, can it?”

“It can, and it is. So, you’d better get ready. Potions waits for no man.”

“Ahhhggggrrrrhhh…” Albus howled, “That was not the right thing to say. I hate that class.”

“Yes, but once you finish that you get to spend the rest of your morning with me. Isn’t that worth getting up for?”

“I’ll think about it.” Albus responded, slowly inching his legs toward the edge of his bed.

Twenty minutes later, Albus and Scorpius were settling in for breakfast. He took a quick scan around the room, but didn’t see Jamie, which wasn’t too surprising. An allergy to mornings was something Jamie and Albus had in common.

Scorpius reached into his bag and pulled out his History of Magic essay. He’d already checked through it twice this morning while he waited for Albus to get ready, but he wanted to just give it another look through before he turned it in.

“You think there’s going to be something in there that wasn’t there ten minutes ago?” Albus asked.

“Just want to be sure. I just…”

“I know” Albus jumped in, “You’re just triple checking. You know it’s great, don’t you? I’d say you were Binns’ reason for living, but… well, that’d be cruel, or something.”

“Ha Ha…” Scorpius answered, finishing up his third scan through the paper that morning. “I just can’t shake the feeling that something’s not quite right… not up to snuff.”

“It’s good, Scorpius. Everything you do is more than good.” Albus assured him. Then thought for a moment, “You’d tell me if there was something wrong, right?”

“Of course… I’m just…. A little anxious.”

“Aside from Rose, you’re the person least likely to need to be anxious, you know?”

“Kind of you to say, but I can’t seem to help it.” he said, taking a deep breath and filing the paper back in his bag.

On their way out of the hall Scorpius took one of the to-go healthy snack packages the staff had started serving in an effort to improve student resiliency and reduce stress. He wasn’t overly fond of the health bar, which tasted decidedly saw dusty to him, but he couldn’t get enough of the pumpkin juice. He always had a weakness for the stuff.

“Phoebe, can you grab one of those for me?” Scorpius heard Rose yell at their group as they got to the table. “I’m just finishing up this revision to my schedule, and don’t want to be stuck with the pumpkin/kumquat flavor juice.”

“Sure thing,” Phoebe called back before turning to Scorpius, “I don’t know how you stand this stuff. It just tastes so grammar school to me.”

“Oh, well if you don’t want yours, I’ll take it.” he offered.

“Be careful there, mate, you’ll turn orange or something.” Albus warned with a wink.

“Will not.” Scorpius rolled his eyes, “Besides, it’s not the worst thing in the world to drink. I could be drinking vats of coffee like you.”

“Hey… There’s milk in here, and dairy’s good for you, right?”

“Alright.” Phoebe interrupted them. “I think that’s probably good for now. I’ve got to go to Charms, see you in Transfig?” she asked Albus.

“Unless I’m something else.” He smiled and gave Phoebe a quick kiss on the cheek before she hopped off to class with Rose.

“How’s the coaching going?” Scorpius asked since he hadn’t really had an update since Albus started one-on-one animagus tutoring with McGonagall a couple of weeks prior.

“Good, I’m actually pretty much there on both the mouse and a dog. I think she’s pretty impressed.”

“Why wouldn’t she be? I’m impressed….. So, the dog, what’s he look like?”

“I dunno’, I haven’t looked in the mirror. I have black hair though, I can tell you that, and I’m kind of mid-height, though… but, I really have no idea what breed I am. She’s only ever said ‘A dog.’ Funny… I don’t know why I didn’t ask.”

“Well, I suppose being a dog is weird enough, but it would be handy to know… maybe… I don’t know… Seems like the kind of thing you should know. What if you’re a poodle?”

“I’m not a poodle.”

“Could be. _I’ve_ never seen you. You _could_ be a poodle…. If you are, do I need to make sure you’re groomed? Because if this hair is any indication, you’re the sorriest looking poodle there ever was.”

“Thanks…. Thanks a lot. I think you’ve been spending too much time with Jamie. I do already have a brother to mock me mercilessly. I don’t actually need my best friend to do that, too.”

“Sorry, you’re right… I’m sure you’re lovely, no matter what breed you are.” Scorpius laughed, petting Albus’ perpetually unruly hair.

“That’s it. You’ve got this coming, then.” and Albus pulled Scorpius into a big, crushing hug.

“What’s that for?”

“Just to remind you that I can squish you if I want….. And, to remind you that I’m your friend….”

“I suppose so… Have fun in Potions… maybe you can brew up something to help you maintain a shiny coat? That’d be good for mousey-Albus or doggie-Albus.” Scorpius grinned.

“Yeah, or maybe I can come up with something to break you of your pumpkin juice dependency.”

“Ha. Ha.” And with a shove Scorpius was off to History of Magic to turn in his essay, but not before he gave it one last look over… just in case.

 

\------^^^^------

 

When he got seated in Potions, Albus noticed Ollie Edgecombe bent over his desk, sipping on pumpkin juice, furiously scratching at some parchment, and muttering to himself.

“Hey, what’s that about, you think?” He asked his lab partner, Yann.

“Beats me. You know Ollie… all those Ravenclaws are off their rockers, and I think he wants to go into healing… So, he really needs this OWL, right?”

“I guess so, but that seems… excessive.”

“Maybe. I usually make it a rule not to pay too close attention to what they do. Obsessing over marks without an end-game seems mad, but they all do it.”

“Well, I don’t know if they have no end-game, being proclaimed prince of the perch might be the objective.”

“I guess. Seems a lot of something for nothing.”

“Well, what’s your end-game then?”Albus wondered.

“Aurors, I think.” Yann answered, pulling out their cauldron and starting to assemble some of the ingredients they’d need for the day’s exercises.

“Oh, I didn’t know. I could ask my Dad if he has any suggestions for you.”

“Really? ...I wasn’t sure you and your dad….” Yann left the statement unfinished, not really knowing how to say ‘I wasn’t sure you liked people talking about your dad.’

“Oh, yeah, I guess I don’t talk about him a lot, but sure… what’s the point of having to put up with him if he can’t occasionally be helpful?”

“Thanks. So, what about you?”

“Uni. I want to study magizoology and enchanted ecology.”

“That sounds… specific.”

“Nah, really it’s just a fancy way of saying I aim to spend my days hanging out in the outdoors and playing with animals.”

“Well, that sounds not too terrible.”

“That’s the idea…. So, what do you need next?” Albus asked, looking at the cauldron and wondering how the day’s lesson would go. Potions wasn’t his best subject, but at least he hadn’t been reduced to Ollie-level anxiety yet.

 

\------^^^^------

 

_Blast, it’s cold._

Scorpius’ ears were frozen to the side of his head and he really regretted that he hadn’t opted for the toque with the warming charm option when he’d gone shopping with his dad for outdoor/quidditch gear over the holidays. The damp Scottish winter was no fun at all, and the wind really whipped across the pitch in the late afternoons.

“All right everyone. I know it’s colder than a set of warlock’s balls out here today, but we’ve got a lot of work to do.” Tom Goyle was barking at the team, all of whom had been summoned to practices lately. The Slytherin team had only a middling record for the first half of the season, and he wanted to get everyone in good shape for when they resumed competitive play again at the end of February.

“Instead of the usual drills, I thought it’d be good to refresh everyone on the broader points of the game, so you’re all going to be taking other positions today.”

Scorpius hoped he wouldn’t have to be keeper, but was secretly not too disappointed to be relieved of having to practice with the bat today because the smack of the bat on the bludgers shot horrid pins and needles up his arm in this kind of weather.

“Okay. We’ll go three four on four. Zabini and Harris you’re in goal, Harris, you’re with me. Smith, you and I will be seekers. Malfoy and Fredericks, you’re chasers… Malfoy, you’re with me. Jenkins and Flint, you’re beaters. Flint, you’re with me.”

Karl and Susan Both groaned, but Karl was definitely more put out.

“Chins up. It won’t kill you, and you might have fun.” Tom nudged Susan who rolled her eyes.

Everyone took their places and Tom timed the practice snitch They fanned out across the pitch and began to play. Scorpius was enjoying playing as chaser so much he started to forget how cold it was. He was weaving in and out, working on grabbing the quaffle and trying to out maneuver Karl and get past Carlos. It was fun, and he enjoyed his teammates, even Karl, who was almost always too intense for his taste.

They were about twenty minutes into their game when Scorpius saw an opportunity open up. Yann had lost control of the quaffle and Scorpius started diving for it, seeing an opening to get a shot in from the left side of the pitch. He dove down toward the ball which was sinking closer and closer to the surface when he saw Karl coming at him out of the corner of his eye. Suddenly he was hit by a bludger on the side of his head and everything started to go grey. He was going down and down and it was dark.

Someone was screaming and coming at him, Susan Flint’s voice… A hand was pulling at his robes.

“Scorpius. Scorpius.” He heard Susan yelling, then Carlos. He felt the pulling. Someone was lightly slapping his face. He opened his eyes and he was looking up, everyone was crowded around. His head hurt, and his arm to. He was on the ground.  
He shook his head again and felt a little nauseated, “What… what the hell?”

“You took a bludger to the head.” Tom said looking angrily at Karl. “If Susan hadn’t grabbed you, you would have hit the pitch a lot harder. How’re you feeling?”

Scorpius reached out to Carlos’ outstretched hand and pulled himself into a sitting position, looking around to try to figure out where he was and where his broom was.

“I think I’m okay.” He answered rubbing the side of his head, “I think…. My arm hurts a bit.. I may have twisted it some.” He rubbed his arm and tried to extend it a little, grunting from the discomfort.

“Hey,” Carlos said, “be careful. We should probably get you to the infirmary.”

“Carlos you take him.” Goyle said, “Everyone else gets to do laps. You’re doing extra, Jenkins. What the hell were you thinking? It’s fucking practice!” Tom was really hot and Jenkins was looking more surly and put upon than usual.

When they got to the infirmary, Madame Promfrey checked Scorpius up and gave him a set of potions, one to help clear the concussion he appeared to have sustained, and the other to relax the muscle in his arm as it healed from the pull.

“Now, you’re going to have to keep an eye on this, and don’t take a nap or anything for at least 6 hours… and let me know if you feel any nausea.” She warned. “We’ll keep you here for a little bit to keep an eye on you. Can someone fetch your dinner?”

“I’ll take care of it” Carlos answered. “You okay here, Scorp?”

“Yeah, I guess so. If I’m stuck here, can you have Albus bring me my Charms text? And, maybe some pumpkin juice with dinner… and don’t forget dessert?”

“So, you’re not feeling nauseous, I gather?” Carlos eyed him.

“No, not so much… just hungry as usual.” Scorpius answered.

In about fifteen minutes Carlos and Rose returned with his dinner, and Jamie followed just a moment after with the Charms textbook.

“Roast chicken and potatoes” Carlos announced as he proffered the plate and they all pulled up chairs.

“And brussels sprouts.” Scorpius noted, admiring the vegetable “My mum called them ‘educated cabbages’… Don’t really know why. Maybe they just had the sense not to get overgrown.” He looked around “What’s dessert?”

“Apple slice.” Rose held the other plate. “None until you finish your dinner, though.” She added.

“You’re bossy, aren’t you?” Scorpius toyed with her taking the plate and handing it to Jamie who took it and promptly took a little bite, earning a stern, but flirty look from Scorpius.

“You know it.” Rose quipped.

“How are you feeling?” Jamie asked, putting the dessert down and brushing a little hair from Scorpius’ face.

“Okay, head aches still, and I’m sure my arm will be stiff… but, the potions seem to be helping.”

“What the fuck was that prat Jenkins thinking?” Jamie fumed, clearly upset that Karl had gone beyond the bounds of acceptable practice competition.

“I’m sure he just got carried away. It’s really nothing.” Scorpius said.

Carlos gave a little hummm at that and Rose and Jamie turned to look at him.

“What’s that mean?” Jamie asked.

“Well, I don’t know… he seemed pretty irritated.” Carlos said.

“How do you mean?” Rose asked.

“Well, his aura, you know… very spikey and bright.” Carlos explained, “not that he’s usually not kind of spikey, Jenkins always is, but more intense than normal..”

“So, do you think he’s angry at me about something? What? Why?” Scorpius asked.

“No… I’m not sure it’s about you…” Carlos answered drifting into thought.

“Well. What do you mean?” Rose probed, getting impatient.

“Well, he’s just more … _Jenkins_ … more irritable than normal…. But, he’s not the only one.”

“Isn’t everyone irritable at this time of year? That’s pretty standard, no?” Rose pushed him.

“No, not that everyone’s more irritable, I’ve just noticed a lot of people are more intensely something… their auras are sort of the same, just brighter and more… more…” He held a little, looking at the trio in front of him, “I don’t want you to take it the wrong way, but you two,” he motioned to Rose and Scorpius, “Like you both are looking ‘ _more_ ’ lately…. Scorpius is more green and prickly and Rose you’re more sharp and yellow…. Don’t you feel it?”

“I don’t know what you mean.” She dismissed him.

“I think I know what you mean.” Jamie answered looking at Rose. “It’s like they’re both more intensely a bit of themselves. Rosie here’s a bit more… Well, bossy and obsessive. And, Scor, you’ve seemed a little on edge.”

Scorpius thought about it, starting to worry, then recognizing that he was starting to worry, “I am… I think… I’ve been having nightmares, and not sleeping.”

Jamie reached out to take his hand, and Scorpius held on to it, not wanting to let go of the firm warmth.

Jamie looked at Carlos, “But you said not everyone looked like this.”

“No, not everyone… just some people. Not you, or Albus, or Phoebe, but Rose, Scorpius, Karl, Tom, Pansy, Vic …. Maybe half the students to one extent or another.”

“What are you thinking?” Scorpius looked at Jamie, who was clearly mulling something over.

“Well…. The pills last fall. Michael said that the effect of the Devil’s Snare compound was that it brought out a person’s worst personality traits… kind of amplified them.” Jamie talked as he thought.

“And, that’s kind of what this is. It’s definitely a ‘more’ kind of thing, for sure.” Carlos joined in, “But, Rose and Scorpius aren’t taking anything, are you?”

“No, nothing.” Scorpius said.

“Me either.” Rose chimed in.

“So, if it’s something like that, how are only some of the students getting it… and why is it happening without their knowledge?” Carlos asked.

“Well, that’s the question, isn’t it?”

 


	10. On the Hunt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone starts looking for something - for clues about why everyone's so on edge, for a story, and for that special Valentine's Day idea...

Eleven heads huddled together in an empty classroom discussing the previous day’s turn of events and what to do next.

“Okay,” Jamie said, “Here’s the list as I have it. Let me know if I’ve missed anything.” And he began to rattle off assignments.

“Albus, Carlos, Scorp, and Vi you’ll watch the Slytherins, particularly Vic, Karl, Tom and Emma.”

“Rose, since you’re Hogwarts’ official study expert, you’re on Ravenclaws along with Elizabeth. Keep an eye on Ollie and report anyone else you think is odd, and Carlos can check them out.”

“Paul, you’re tasked with Hufflepuff, and Carlos, if you could take a look at Philippa and see if she’s okay. We’ll bring her in, as well, right?” Paul nodded. It wasn’t as if he’d be able to keep this kind of activity from his twin sister for long, anyway.

“Rose, Michael, Ben and I will cover Gryffindor,” Jamie resumed. “and Paul, Elizabeth and I will also keep tabs through the Prefect meetings.”

“Those of us who play quidditch will keep an eye on the players during games and/or practices, and Elizabeth and Michael, you’ll work with Rose and Scorp to cover the library.” He looked at the four of them with an arched eyebrow, “I think the four of you should be able to cover about every waking hour, don’t you?”

Scorpius threw a wad of paper at him, “Yes, we’re studious.” He countered with an arched eyebrow, “Besides, I thought you liked the library.”

Jamie pinked a little, but managed to keep going. “And, Carlos and Albus, you’ll keep an eye on Scorp, just in case. Michael and I will keep an eye on Rosie. Everyone will take notes on their subjects and anyone else we think looks odd and share with Rose, Scorp and Elizabeth who’ll compile the data and look for patterns. Carlos will continue to watch for potential subjects and let us know who should be added to the list. Hopefully, we’ll get some sense of what’s going on before too long.”

“In the meantime, I think we should try to do something to see if we can calm things a little, don’t you?” Albus added.

“What are you thinking?” Jamie asked.

“I’m not sure, but it could take a while before we get a good picture of what’s happening, and if people are getting that edgy…. Maybe we should just try to do something to slow things down.”

“Okay, then. You, Vi, and Paul can work on that.”

“Lastly, we need to find the Room of Requirement. I can’t believe we’ve left it for this long, but I don’t think that we’ll be able to count on empty classrooms forever. Plus, we’ll want somewhere to store the information we collect, and I don’t want it to be found and to cause alarm or suspicion. Let’s face it, taking notes on your classmates isn’t exactly friendly behavior.”

“Let’s break the Castle up into sectors and assign teams to look.” Elizabeth suggested, and everyone concurred. “If we add Philippa and Phoebe we’ll easily have five teams of two or three people.”

Before long the group had completely divided their assignments and planned to catch up again at their Thursday night meeting time.

Scorpius looked around at the group and couldn’t help but feel a little edgy.

 

\------^^^^------

 

Scorpius and Jamie were, of course, put on a team of two to look for the Room of Requirement, and since the meeting on Tuesday night had been making a serious and concerted effort to locate the room. Not too surprisingly, it wasn’t long before they realized some of the ancillary benefits of the search.

“Do you think we need to check this out?” Jamie asked Scorpius, pointing to a quiet hallway.

“Umm…” Scorpius looked, with a smile slowly growing across his face, “That does look like it needs further inspection, doesn’t it?”

“I think it does… I think it definitely does…” He purred slowly in Scorpius’ ear causing Scorpius to hold tighter to his hand in anticipation.

They walked back and forth, up and down the hallway, and Scorpius noticed a little jut off an alcove at the far end.

“Let’s just see what’s over here.” Scorpius said, moving back to the decidedly remote and hidden corner, pulling Jamie and himself out of sight of anyone except the most dedicated passerby.

As he pulled Jamie close he noticed his heart was doing little pitty-pats, and he began to giggle a little.

“Am I tickling you?” Jamie asked.

“No, it’s just… I’m just… giddy.” Scorpius said, a little flustered and blushing.

“Giddy?” Jamie started to laugh, his eyes crinkling up, which caused a surge of full-blown giddiness in Scorpius.

“Oh, Merlin, now you’ve done it.” He gasped through the giggles.

“What??” Jamie was transfixed by this turn of events, wondering how he’d got his boyfriend into this state.

“Just kiss me, Jamie… just…” He didn’t have a chance to ask again, because Jamie was more than happy to comply, and if he were completely honest, he found giddy, dorky Scorpius one of the most enticing Scorpius’ of all. All that full-fledged dorky energy just drove him right around the bend.

They were pressed so close together Scorpius could feel their excitement. He thought back to the holiday break, and the fun they’d had taking some of the ideas from the “Guide” for a test run. Since they’d been back at Hogwarts, though, things had been significantly tamer. It was hard to believe, but it was actually harder to get up to no good here than it was at home. At Jaimie’s there was so much going on that people lost track of them, and at his house there were so many remote spots that no one really kept track. They’d had the run of both locations and each other for the better part of a month, and now they were back on a kind of enforced semi-chastity program. Not that they weren’t able to enjoy themselves, but it definitely did cause a build-up of interest. He felt a little like a dam that was starting to fill past capacity, and he could tell that Jamie was feeling that way, too.

Jamie’s hands wrapped around him and pulled him closer, increasing the pressure between them. Scorpius responded by weaving his legs between Jamie’s so that they could get as close as possible. He ground against Jamie, and they were both trying to be quiet but letting out little pants and moans despite themselves.

“Merlin” Scorpius murmured, pushing closer and wishing they could be somewhere private.

“Mmmmm… uuuuhhhh” Jamie purred into a groan. “Oh, we really have to find that room.” He whispered in between bites at Scorpius’ neck.

They were both so close. They just needed a little push, and Scorpius moved his hand from his grip on Jamie’s back and reached to undo his trousers and slide his hand in the front of Jamie’s pants. He gripped Jamie and felt him drive hard into his hand. Jamie returned the favor, taking Scorpius in hand, as well. They both pushed and rocked, focusing exclusively on pushing themselves and each other to the end, panting in each other’s ears, and emitting slight moans.

In just a matter of minutes they were both shaking with pleasure, exchanging sloppy kisses, smiling, and wiping damp hair from one another’s brows.

“Hmmmm…..” Scorpius let out an extended sigh of pleasure as he leaned back and just let the moment settle into his memory to join all the others that had been adding up over the past couple of months.

“Happy?” Jamie asked, nibbling his ear.

“Yes…. So, since you’re the guy with the NEWT in Charms, why don’t you clean us up?” Scorpius smiled.

“Maybe you should get the practice…” Jamie teased before he gave a quick ‘ _scourgify_ ’ to clean them both up as they got themselves back into order.

Scorpius sighed a deep, contented sigh again, and Jamie reached to hold Scorpius’ jaw in his hand. He was looking over Scorpius’ face, just about to say something when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He backed up just a step and looked more intently.

“Was that there before?” he asked Scorpius.

Scorpius turned to look, “I’m not sure…”

They both moved to look a little more closely.

“Do you actually think?” Scorpius wondered and Jamie reached for the handle.

“Well, we did walk by this spot three times… and we did really want it…” He looked at Scorpius with a broad smile…”So…” Then he tried the handle and the door swung open.

Scorpius immediately flamed red looking at the enormous, velvet draped bed. His heart jumped and it was a moment before he could look at Jamie who’d started laughing all ready. “Um…. Yeah…. I think that was me.” Scorpius admitted.

“Wow” Jamie coughed out through laughter he was straining to contain, “Looks like we found it. If I had only known, we could have been much more aggressive in our search.”

“Ha. Ha. Please don’t hold this over my head.” Scorpius warned him “Or… you might never get the chance to try this out.” He added trying not to sound as anxious as he felt in that moment, “Anyway, we better go tell the others.”

“Yeah… On the other hand, we could wait… Valentine’s is just a few days away…” Jamie thought.

Scorpius looked at Jamie with a slight smile, and Jamie pulled him for a quick kiss to the forehead. “That’s a yes?”

“Yes, it’s a yes.”

Suddenly, Scorpius was very aware that Valentines was just five days away. Not even five really. More like four.

 

\------^^^^-------

 

Friday morning, Scorpius and Albus were eating breakfast with Phoebe, Aishah and Rose when Jamie came over and flopped down at their table, wrapping Scorpius in a hug.

“Good morning.” He hummed.

“Good morning” Scorpius blushed a little, still thinking a bit about the night before.

“Something going on?” Albus asked, noticing Scorpius was visibly pinker than he’d been a moment before.

“Oh, no… Nothing.” Scorpius said, biting his lip and glancing away.

“Aishah,” Jamie said, jumping in to rescue his boyfriend, “How’s _The_   _Crier_ these days?”

“Okay. I’m actually thinking about working on an investigative piece.” She said.

“Oh?” Jamie said, “That sounds intriguing. What on?”

“The cafeteria… actually, the purchasing. I noticed that we’ve started to receive a lot of deliveries from des Jardins, and guess who’s brother manages that place?” Aishah asked.

“Whose?”

“Mrs. Brazier”

“The head cook?” Jamie asked.

“That’s right.” Aishah answered with a big nod.

“How’d you find that out.” Jamie wondered.

“That’s what’s called investigative journalism.” She smiled. “Or, just old fashioned snooping.”

“Need any help doing any other snooping?”

“Well, I’m actually going to check out what exactly it is we’re getting from them. I’m curious about how much business they’re getting. You want to help?”

“Maybe, yeah.” Jamie said.

Scorpius laughed and shook his head

“What?” Jamie asked.

“You’re just… Is there nothing you don’t want to know? You must have driven your parents absolutely mad.”

“You’re one to talk. Mister “My Life Would Be Perfect If I Could Live in the Library”” Jamie teased, looking at Scorpius with pleasure and appreciation.

Then he remembered, “Anyway, yeah, they weren’t very pleased when I found their stash from Santa.”

“When was that?” Scorpius asked.

“When I was five. They made me promise not to ruin it for Albus and Lily.”

“You’re kidding!” Albus jumped in. “You knew all that time?”

“Yeah.” Jamie was laughing now.

“When’d you figure it out, then?” Scorpius asked Albus.

“I was ten. Lily told me.” He confessed.

“Yikes. That says a lot… about all of you.” Scorpius looked over at Lily, commanding her end of the Gryffindor table. “Don’t feel bad, Albus. You just have faith in things, that’s all.”

Phoebe looked at Albus with a smile, “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to believe in good things.”

 

\-------^^^^-------

 

By the time he got to Charms that morning, Scorpius was racking his brain trying to come up with a plan for Valentine’s Day. He’d ordered something from Honeydukes, but beyond that he really had no idea…Plus, it was on a Monday and a Monday after a non-Hogsmeade weekend... Plus, there was the room of requirement, and thinking about that kind of made Scorpius’ insides turn out.

“Albus,” Scorpius whispered as they were settling into their seats, “What are you doing for Valentine’s Day?”

“Hum?” Albus said, not really having been paying attention, “Oh, right. Well, I thought dinner and then maybe taking her to the bonfire. I’m going to get some roses from the Prefect Charity Sale. Why?”

“I’m just not sure… I’m kind of at a loss.” Scorpius mumbled, feeling his insides jam up. He had only three days, four if you counted Valentine’s Day itself, and he was really starting to get worried. What if Jamie came up with something amazing and all he had was a box of chocolates?

Seeing Scorpius look, Albus added, “You know, I’m sure that whatever you do, Jamie’ll like it. He likes you, not gifts. Anyway, just think back on the things you’ve done before. What’d he like?”

Scorpius thought and that and began to blush a little, and feel even more anxious. Pushing those thoughts out of his head he turned to Carlos “Hey, how about you? You going to send flowers to anyone?”

“Oh, no… well. There’s no one here I’d want to send flowers to.”

“But there is someone, somewhere?” Albus asked reading between the lines.

“Maybe…” Carlos was blushing now, making a point of pulling together his papers for the day’s lesson, “Kind of. I think.”

“Well…?” Albus said, eyebrows raised, looking for an answer.

“Louis?” Carlos said, somewhat as a question.

“Louis! My cousin Louis? That one?” Albus chirped excitedly, “But he’s miles away…”

“Well, we’ve been writing… Since the holidays.”

“Our party.” Scorpius smiled, remembering, “I saw you there.”

“Yeah…” Carlos got this hazy, warm look on his face.

“That’s cool.” Albus patted Carlos on the shoulder, “Really.”

“And romantic” Scorpius added.

Albus rolled his eyes.

“What’s wrong with romantic?” Scorpius asked.

“It’s kind of girly, isn’t it?” Albus countered.

“No it’s not. It’s just thoughtfulness. You can’t tell me that when you do nice, thoughtful things for Phoebe it doesn’t make her happy.”

“I guess.” Albus thought about it, “Well, then that’s all you have to do for Jamie, then. Be thoughtful.”

“Okay, you got me there.” Scorpius admitted. “I’m still at wits’ end, though.”

“You Scorpius? Overthinking something? That’s really hard to believe.” Carlos laughed.

Scorpius gave Carlos a friendly punch.

 

\-------^^^^-------

 

Early Saturday morning, Jamie met Aishah in a side corridor near the kitchens. They were going to stake out the loading dock and get a look at what came in that morning.

It was still dark out, and they had to spend a little time finding a spot where they were fairly sure they could get a good view of what was happening on the dock without being seen by anyone below. Jamie’d also brought a camera so that they could record anything of interest.

“What time do they normally get here?” He asked, wondering how long he’d was in for this. He was supposed to start their quidditch practice at 11 that morning and was half-hoping he could grab a little sleep before he had to head out for that.

“They should be here by 6:30 if not a little before.” She whispered.

Jamie started drumming his fingers on his leg while he waited. “So, what got you interested in this?” He asked Aishah.

“Well, I was actually starting to do a follow-up on my piece from last fall, the one about student stress?” She reminded him.

“Yeah, I remember that.”

“So, I wanted to check into some of the things were doing. Things like those ‘health packs’ and such. Anyway, when I started looking into that I realized that they were purchasing all the new product, and some replacement product from des Jardins. Much more than they’d been purchasing before… And that made me wonder… And, I just kept poking around and found the connection.”

“Cool.” Jamie nodded. “What do you think will happen if you find something.”

“Really, I don’t know, but it seems like the kind of thing that should be brought to light, doesn’t it?”

“Absolutely.” Jamie was about to continue their conversation when Aishah gave him a little tap and pointed. The truck was pulling up.

Sure enough, they unloaded a couple of pallets of pumpkin juice, boxes of health bars, boxes of cereal, and crates of produce. Then, the person from the kitchen signed a clipboard and handed the driver an envelope. Then it was over.

“So, that’s it for now?” He asked, feeling a little put out.

“Yes, that’s it.” She answered, “You get pictures?”

“I did, but not that much happened.”

“Sure it did. That guy from the kitchen? Mrs. Brazier’s nephew… and the envelope? What was that about? We have an account with them. There’s no reason to to be handing anything off.” Aishah explained.

“So, what do we do next, then?”

“Well, I’d love to get a look at their books…”

“But you’re not sure how.” Jamie finished. “Maybe I can come up with an idea. Maybe I can use my ‘Head Boy’ for something useful.”

“You mean other than adding to your resume and helping you get dates?” She rattled off, then stopped. “I mean.. Well…” Aishah stumbled trying to course correct.

“No,” Jamie said with a little bit of a laugh, “You’re not wrong. It was good for that… until Scor…”

“Yeah,” She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, “You’re lucky with him.”

“I know.”

 

\-------^^^^-------

 

Scorpius and the Slytherin team were making a final lap of the pitch when he saw Jamie walk up with the rest of the Gryffindor team. It was ridiculous that someone could look so eager to practice, but Jamie always seemed excited to be there. Then again, maybe it wasn’t so crazy. He enjoyed practice, mostly because he liked flying so much.. and that gave Scorpius an idea.

 


	11. What Do You Want?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the countdown to Valentine's Day, which means a little worry for Scorpius, some advice from Albus, and Prefect Charity Roses for everyone.
> 
> NOTE: English Translation for the Poem is in the Notes.

When Jamie got back to the Gryffindor tower after quidditch practice Saturday, a suspicious looking Hugo was heading out of the hallway that led to the 7th year dorms.

“What are you doing here?” Jamie asked looking at his cousin trying to determine what, exactly, he was up to.

“Humm?” Hugo looked at him trying his best to look innocent and failing a little, “Oh, I was just looking for you… um…. I was wondering if I could get your advice on something…”

“Oh?”

“Yeah…” Hugo stuttered a little “Well, I think I might fancy a girl, and….”

“Ah…” Jamie said, putting his arm around Hugo’s shoulders “Well, tell me about it, and I’ll see if I can help.”

 

\------^^^^------

 

By the time Scorpius sat down to dinner that night he was feeling decidedly better. He’d set things in motion for Valentine’s Day and gotten a good afternoon of study in. Overall, it had turned into a highly productive day. He wasn’t the only one in a relatively good mood. From the sound of the hall, it seemed like everyone was feeling a little lighter that evening.

“What’s this?” He heard Albus’ voice, and turned to see him undoing a letter from a large owl.

“What is it?” He asked as Albus started reading the letter.

“It’s from that magical creatures program in America.” He explained as he kept reading. His expression was completely unreadable, and Scorpius wasn’t sure if it was good or bad news.

“Well…” Scorpius added giving Albus the ‘We’re all waiting’ look when he finally looked up.

“I’m in.” Albus said with a look of slight surprise.

Scorpius reached over to look at the letter. “I’d think so! Albus, this is great! Hagrid must have written a really fantastic letter, or Professor Longbottom must have made sure he did. The things they say in here….”

“I know… I’m…” Albus was blushing now as everyone looked at him. “I hope I can live up to it.”

Phoebe looked at him, taking his hand. “Of course you will. You’ll be fantastic.”

Scorpius was reading the letter closely, then looked at Albus, “It looks like we might have to change up our summer plans a little. It says the program starts in early July.”

“Oh…” Phoebe started, and then continued, “and when do you get back?”

“The end of August. It’s eight weeks in total.” Albus explained, trying to read Phoebe’s expression.

“Wow,” Scorpius said, “That’s the whole summer… I mean, that’s exciting, but…” He didn’t really know how to put it in words, but he hadn’t been apart from Albus for more than three weeks since the day they’d met. Eight weeks was a long time. Then again, it was months away, and he was planning to go away, too. It just reminded him that things were changing again, or more, or something. Things just kept tumbling forward.

Scorpius looked over at the Gryffindor table where Jamie was finishing his dinner with Ben and Michael, and thought about how Jamie had less than five months left of school. Only five more months of seeing him every day, and then he’d probably be in auror training, and who knew what that meant. It was all just coming so fast, and he had no idea what it was that Jamie wanted or expected… or what he wanted. He could feel his heart starting to speed up and his anxiety building.

“Scorpius, are you okay?” It was Carlos, who was sitting next to him now and had a hand on his back. “Are you okay?”

Scorpius looked around, and tried to get a handle on himself. He took a few deep breaths, looked at Carlos and nodded. “Yes, yes, I think I’m okay. I think so. Was I…?”

“You were just starting to look really anxious. Do you want some water or something?”

“I’m okay. I’ve got something.” Scorpius said and took a couple of sips of his pumpkin juice.

He was feeling much more settled when Jamie walked over and took a seat on Scorpius’ other side.

“Hey. So, how was practice this morning?” Jamie asked.

“Good, and yours?”

“Very good. We’re definitely going to kick your Slytherin asses when we meet in a few weeks.”

“You wish,” Yann called from across the table.

“Prove me wrong, then, Fredericks,” Jamie called back.

“How do you put up with this guy?” Yann asked Scorpius.

“He makes up for it in other ways.” Scorpius answered, surprising himself.

“I do” Jamie smiled, “Speaking of which, what were you planning to do tonight?”

“Library…” Scorpius smiled.

“Well, how about joining me while I catch a dress rehearsal of the Hogwarts Players? Ben said they’re coming along really well, and they’re doing a full rehearsal tonight at 9 here in the Hall. Interested?”

“That sounds good. I can squeeze in about an hour or so of study and then meet you here?” Scorpius suggested.

“Perfect.” Then, with a quick peck on the cheek, Jamie was off.

Jamie was just turning the corner back toward the Gryffindor tower when he heard a voice behind him.

“Jamie, hey.” It was Carlos.

“Oh. Carlos, what is it?”

“Um… Well… It’s probably nothing, but I thought you should know.” Carlos started.

“Yeah?” Jamie was starting to get a little concerned because Carlos was looking a little concerned.

“Well, at dinner, before you came over…. Scorpius was looking a little overly anxious.” Carlos kind of shrugged his shoulders. “It might have just been a one time thing, but he looked a little like he might have been close to an anxiety attack of some kind.”

“Do you know what caused it?” Jamie asked.

“I don’t. It’s probably just general stuff, you know him, but he does seem to be a lot more anxious than normal…. I just thought you’d want to know.”

“Thanks, Carlos, really.” Jamie gave Carlos’ shoulder a squeeze. “I’ll look out for him.”

As Jamie walked back to his room, he started to get worried. If whatever was happening was starting to put Scorpius in danger he needed to let someone know. He just wasn’t sure who the right person was.

 

\------^^^^-------

 

Albus was reading in the common room when Scorpius got back that evening. He sat down next to him and spread out, letting the long day seep out of his bones slowly.

“Tired?” Albus asked.

“Long day I guess….” Scorpius started.

“I know what you mean.” Albus said and then asked “Did Phoebe look upset to you tonight?”

“I don’t know. Do you think she was?”

“I’m not sure… she just didn’t seem all that enthusiastic about the program.” Albus said, thinking.

“Well, to be honest, it kind of threw me. Eight weeks is a long time… I mean, it’s silly, but we haven’t been apart that long since we met, you know… and, I’m not your girlfriend. Maybe she had something in mind for this summer?”

“I guess… I don’t know.” Albus thought about it.

“Do you think it’s something else?” Scorpius asked.

“I don’t know. I really have no idea what I’m doing here… I mean, as a boyfriend. It’s just…”

“You don’t have to tell me. I’m…. I mean… Sometimes I think everything's going great and then I think I’m totally out of my depth.” Scorpius started and then paused, not sure if he wanted to go further, but there was something he really wanted to talk to someone about, and Albus was his best friend. He must have taken a deep breath because the next thing he heard was Albus.

“Scorpius, is something on your mind?”

“Oh, ummm.”

“I know what that sigh means. If there’s something you need to talk about… I’m still your best friend. No matter what it is.”

“Okay, well….” Scorpius wasn’t sure if this was going to be weird or not but figured he’d just dive in. After casting a quick muffliato he started. “Well… So, you and Phoebe, you’re doing stuff together, right?”

Albus looked at Scorpius, wondering where this was going., “Yeah, sure.. we do stuff…”

“Well, how do you know you’re doing the right stuff?”

“I’m not sure I know what you’re asking…”

“Well… We… Jamie and I…. we’ve done some things, and I really liked all that… I did… but then the other night we found the room of requirement, and there was a bed in it… and we’re going to have a date on Monday night.. there… in the room… and I’m not sure I’m ready for that… but we’ve kind of moved quickly on some of the other things… and….” Words were just tumbling out of Scorpius’ mouth as he tried to get as much out as he could before his brain caught up to what he was saying and he got too embarrassed to continue.

“You found the Room of Requirement?” Albus asked, looking completely confused.

“Yes, but that’s not really the issue.” Scorpius wanted to smack Albus upside the head.

“Right. Right. No, it isn’t.” Albus was trying to think of the right thing to say while at the same time not really thinking about the fact that Scorpius had just told him that he was nervous about having sex with his brother…. At least he thought that’s what Scorpius was getting at. That, or something in the neighborhood.

“Okay,” Albus continued, “I think it doesn’t matter what you’ve done already. If you’re not ready, or if you need to pause where you are… or whatever you need… I think you should do that. For all the crap I know about him, I think Jamie’s a pretty decent guy, and the important thing isn’t actually what he wants, but what you want. I think that anyone who really cares about you would want everything you do to be something you wanted, not something you felt obligated or pressured to do.”

Scorpius wasn’t sure he could look at Albus. He was so weirdly nervous, but when he looked at him, Albus was just looking at him so calmly, with so much kindness that he nearly burst into tears.

Albus must have noticed because the next moment he was rubbing Scorpius’ back, “Scorpius. Just tell him what you want. It’ll be okay.” Then he added, “Besides, he knows that if he screws up, I’ll kill him.”

“How’s he know that?” Scorpius said, glad that Albus was trying to lighten the mood.

“’Cause I told him so.” Albus smiled.

“When was that?”

“Last term, after the Yule Ball, I really let him have it… I think you would have been impressed.”

“Thanks.” Scorpius said, giving Albus a hug. “And, if you’re half as nice to Phoebe as you are to me, I don’t think you have anything to worry about. She’s just wondering about things, that’s all.”

“Maybe…” Albus didn’t sound one-hundred percent convinced. “Anyway, back to the other thing. How did you not tell me that you’d found the Room?”

 

  
\------^^^^------

 

On Monday morning, Jamie was woken by Scorpius’ owl, Ragnell, who was bearing a card and a rose. The rose was one of the Prefect Charity Roses, and the card looked like something Scorpius had created himself.

He opened it, and to charmed paper quidditch players flew out of the card, flying in loops and whorls.

_Jamie,_

_Join me tonight at 8 on the deck of the East Tower, dress warmly and bring your broom._

_Scorpius_

Jamie smiled looking at the the little paper flyers, who were still circling in the air above the open card. He quickly jotted down his response and sent Ragnall off to find Scorpius.

 

\------^^^^------

 

When Scorpius sat down at breakfast that morning, he was greeted by a house elf bearing a small present and one of the Prefect Roses. As he looked at the rose he wondered exactly how much the prefects managed to raise through the rose sales. They must have sold thousands of them, if the ubiquity of roses around the room was any indication. Even Carlos had one.

“Carlos, what’s that you’ve got?” Albus asked.

“It looks like a rose, Albus.” Carlos said, being uncharacteristically cheeky.

Scorpius needled Carlos with his elbow. “So, who’s it from?”

“It’s from Louis.” Carlos admitted.

“Really?” Scorpius asked, looking at Albus who was pointedly engaging Phoebe in conversation. “I wonder how he knew?”

“I’m not sure. I think someone must have owled him.” Carlos was looking at Albus, now, too. “The only thing is, I didn’t get him anything. I didn’t know.”

“Well, I bet you can make it up with a nice letter back. If you get it out early, he’ll have it by the end of the day.” Scorpius said.

“Well, enough about me. What do you have there?” Carlos asked Scorpius, looking down at the unopened present.

“I’m not sure….” Scorpius began to open it, sliding off the bow and undoing the wrap. It was a small book which was written in Latin. He flipped to a marked page and read the short poem there, then looked around the room but didn’t see Jamie. Suddenly, Ragnell swooped in and landed on his shoulder. Scorpius loosed the note from his claw and read it.

_Scor,_

_I’ll be there, broom at the ready._

_I hope you like the book. You know I can’t read a word of Latin, but since you can I thought I’d go out on a limb… and the sales clerk seemed to think it was romantic. Luckily, they also had a version in translation so I was able to check them out. I hope you like the one I marked._

_J_

Scorpius flipped to the marked page again and read the poem.

 _Mellitos oculos tuos, Iuuenti,_  
      si quis me sinat usque basiare  
      usque ad millia basiem trecenta  
      nec numquam uidear satur futurus,  
      non si densior aridis aristis  
      sit nostrae seges osculationis.

 

When he finished he realized Rose was leaning over his shoulder.

“Well… “ She said “I’m pretty certain no one in this room got anything better than that. My cousin doesn’t go half in, I guess.”

“You read Latin, Rose?” Scorpius asked.

“I do.” She said smiling at him. “I didn’t know Jamie did, though.”

Scorpius laughed, “He doesn’t, he had help…”

“Well, whoever that was, he owes them.” She raised an eyebrow, “Three hundred thousand times, huh?”

“So, what about you, Rose?” Scorpius said, changing the topic and motioning to the Rose she held.

“A secret admirer…” She answered.

“Secret to you, or to us?” Scorpius asked, knowing he had his suspicions.

“That’s for me to know, and you to maybe find out…. when I want you to.” She answered with a wink.

 

\------^^^^------

 

When Scorpius got to Transfig. Rose was there with a little package.

“Someone, and I’m not saying who, asked me to give this to you.”

Scorpius opened it. It was two Pepper Imps and a note.

_Some pepper imps for my own spicy imp._

_(Okay, I know that’s really over doing it, but I couldn’t resist)._

 

Scorpius flushed bright red and quickly ate one of the imps hoping he could use the candy as a cover for the uncontrollable blush that had broken out all over his face. Unfortunately, he was too late and while puffs of steam were pouring out of his own ears he looked over at Albus who had clearly seen the note and had collapsed into a sort of choking cough.

“Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy. If you’ll settle down the rest of us can begin class.” Professor McGonagall gave them a stern looking at.

Scorpius nodded and looked at Albus who was waving him off.

“Let’s just agree that I never saw that.” Albus said when he was finally able to draw some breath and speak normally.

“Agreed” Scorpius said, still flushing bright pink.

 

\------^^^^------

 

At lunch Scorpius enlisted Rose to deliver a package to Jamie.

“What’s this?” He asked looking at the small box with a familiar bow.

“I’m not sure, but I’m sticking around to watch you open it just in case it makes you blush as fiercely as the one you had me deliver to him last period.” Rose watched him examine the box, finally bursting with impatience, “Well, open it! I don’t have all day.”

“Okay,” Jamie was laughing as he opened the box. It was a small rounded white chocolate truffle with a note.

 _A little something sustain you until this evening. If I remember correctly the last thing you put this bow on was white_ _and rounded, too._

 

Jamie quickly closed up the note before Rose had a chance to look at it, but his face couldn’t have been more transparent.

“Well…” She said looking at him with a bit of a smirk before she bolted off to make her way over to the Slytherin table where she slid in next to her friend.

“Well, Scorpius Malfoy, you are full of surprises. I don’t know what was in that note, but it must have been pretty good.”

Scorpius perked up an eyebrow and smiled his very best Cheshire Cat smile.

 

\------^^^^------

 

By that afternoon Jamie had decided that Professor Williams would be a good person to chat with about Scorpius’ anxiety. He’d thought it through, and it seemed to make sense from multiple angles. Williams knew Scorpius well, he also was plugged in to whatever his Dad and Mr. Malfoy were up to, and he knew Mr. Malfoy. So, if there was anything to worry about, he could make sure it was taken care of. Most importantly, though, Williams didn’t seem like the kind who blew things out of proportion.

When he got to DADA he quickly made his way up to Williams’ desk. “Sir, do you have a few minutes after class? I wanted to talk with you about something.”

“Of course, Mr. Potter. I hope you’re not having trouble with your NEWT studies?”

“No, it’s not that, actually… It’s something personal.”

“Oh, of course. I’ll make sure we wind things up on time so that we have a couple of minutes before you have to get to your next class.”

“No worries. My last class is Muggle Studies, and since I’ve already got my NEWT in that I’m just working on my 7th year project.”

“Well, I don’t like to be the cause of tardiness to a colleague’s class. So, we’d better get started. Why don’t you take your seat?” Williams motioned Jamie over to his seat and then turned to begin the class.

Once class ended and everyone had more or less cleared the room, Jamie walked back up to the front.

“So, how can I help you?” Williams asked.

“Well, it’s about Scorpius.” Jamie started.

“Oh, okay. What is it?”

“Well, it’s actually a little broader than just Scorp, but it involves him. You see, some of us have noticed that some of the students are starting to act a little strangely….” Jamie continued on, laying out what he knew of the situation to Williams so that the Professor had the full context of the situation, finishing with, “… and then today, Carlos said that he noticed that Scorpius was looking really anxious. He thought he might have been on the edge of an attack. That seemed serious to me. Even though we don’t have anything firm at all to go on, I wanted to make sure that someone other than me was aware of it and looking out for him.”

“I see.” Williams was considering things, mulling over what Jamie had told him. “Well, I’m glad you told me.”

“I know you’ve been kind of working on something with my dad and Scorp’s dad, and I thought that maybe you’d want to discuss it with them?” Jamie added.

Williams looked a little startled at that, but quickly reverted to his typical placid appearance, “I see. I’m not going to ask exactly what you mean by that, but I’m not going to tell you I don’t know what you mean either. I’m not sure if you’re right about what you think, but I’ll definitely make sure that people are aware.”

Jamie nodded.

“In the meantime, are you okay?” Williams asked.

“What do you mean?” Jamie responded.

“Well, he is your boyfriend, right? I assume all of this is because you’re worried, too.”

Jamie nodded, thinking, “I am, a little… but I think we’ll be okay.”

“Well, just keep an eye on him and let me know if you need anything.” Williams finished. “And, I’ll do the same.”

“Thanks, Sir.” Jamie said, rising now that they were pretty much finished, “I’d better get going.”

“Of course.”

Jamie stopped just before he walked out the door, “Oh, if you talk with Zora, tell her we all say “Hello.” It was great meeting her over the holidays. I hope she had a nice trip.”

“I will, thank you, Jamie…. And I think she did have a good time. I think she’s going to be able to come back again for a short visit in the spring.”

“That’s great… Well, I really better go now.” Jamie said and he was off.

 

\-------^^^^-------

 

At eight o’clock Jamie bounded up the stairs with his broom in tow, and found Scorpius already waiting for him with his Firebolt C in hand.

“So, you ready?” Scorpius said with a gleeful look.

“Absolutely.” Jamie answered.

“Okay, just one moment….” Then Scorpius reached out his hand and gave both their brooms a quick lumos charm at the tip so that they’d light their way.

“That is so cool, Scorp.” Jamie said, appreciating the wandless magic.

“Yup… I’ve got another thing or two up my sleeve, too.” Scorpius added with a flick of his eyebrow. “But for now, let’s just fly, shall we?”

“You sure this is okay?” Jamie asked, knowing that night flight was generally not permitted.

“Yup – asked McGonagall for a little dispensation. So we need to not get into trouble, Jamie Potter.”

“Well, I’ll try.” Jamie said…. “Oh, wait… before we go, one other thing.”

“What’s that?” Scorpius asked.

Then Jamie leaned over and pulled Scorpius into a slow and happy kiss. “Just that. I haven’t had a chance to do that yet today, and it is Valentine’s Day.”

Then they kicked off and rose up into the air.

Flying at night was exhilarating and a little disorienting. With the help of the lumos spell they could see the ground below, but they were also surrounded by the stars in a way that was completely new. Scorpius felt like the sky was wrapping around him. He looked over at Jamie who was leaning forward on his broom, diving headfirst into the wind and the darkness. It was stunning. Sometimes Jamie quite literally took his breath away.

Jamie looked back and watched Scorpius darting around, taking everything in. He seemed to be dancing in the stars. Scorpius looked like he would never tire of finding new things. Jamie wondered if Scorpius had any idea what a rare and beautiful thing he was. Out there, in the moonlight he looked just extraordinary, nearly extra-terrestrial.

They swooped around and looked down at the students gathering at the bonfire, and they could feel the heat even several dozen feet up above the ground. Scorpius watched Albus and Phoebe and Yann and Philippa chatting in a little group with Carlos and Aishah. Then he saw Rose and Vi talking and Hugo with some girl he wasn’t sure he knew.

After about an hour up in the air, they landed again on the tower.

“Ready for the next part?” Scorpius asked.

“Ready.” Jamie answered, feeling a little like a kid on Christmas morning.

“Okay.” Then Scorpius pulled out his wand and started whispering softly, seeming to be feeding an idea into the wand. Then with a quick set of three strokes the wand shot out three large words that hovered brightly over the Hogwarts ground.

“Happy Valentine’s Day” glowed in enormous red and white letters, shimmering like a combination of fireworks and fairy dust. At first a small smattering of applause could be heard from the ground, but then it became louder and Scorpius realized that the whole bonfire had seen his valentine.

“Oh… “ he said a little sheepishly. “I didn’t really realize… That was really just for you.” He said looking at Jamie.

“I loved it. All of it.” He pulled Scorpius close and rested his forehead against Scorpius’, letting a little cocoon of warmth surround them in the still winter air. “I loved it…. and I love you…. I love you, Scorpius.”

Scorpius was filled up with happiness, so much that he thought that he really knew what it meant to feel like you could actually die from it. He felt like his outsides were so thin that the happiness inside him might break him open and dissolve him into pieces. He pulled back and looked at Jamie, whose golden hazel eyes looked like the softest, warmest place on Earth, and couldn’t believe this was all a real moment in his own life.

“I love you, too, Jamie.” Scorpius breathed as he held Jamie’s face in his hands, leaned forward, kissed him and then buried his face in Jamie’s hair while Jamie held him close. At that moment all he wanted to do was stand in the stillness of everything.

“Hey..” Scorpius heard Jamie whisper in his ear. “We’re not done yet, you know.”

Jamie let go of his hold of Scorpius and stepped back, adding, “I still have a few more things up my sleeve.”

“Oh,” Scorpius said, coming back to Earth, “So do I, actually.”

“Really?.. I don’t know how you’re going to top all of that.”

“Well, you’ll just have to see.”

As Jamie started to pull him inside, Scorpius realized they were probably heading for the Room of Requirement. He wasn’t sure what Jamie had planned next, but he was really starting to get nervous. Everything was so perfect right now, and he didn’t want to move away from that… and he was worried about what Jamie wanted. He thought back to what Albus had said and gripped Jamie’s hand.

“Hey…” Jamie said, looking at Scorpius “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Scorpius said, biting his lip a little, “It’s just… I don’t know what you have in mind for the rest of the evening… with the Room… and I… I’m just happy with how things are right now…” He could feel himself getting tight with worry and gripping Jamie’s hand harder.

Jamie looked at his hand and up at Scorpius, “I’m happy, too.”

“It’s just…” Scorpius continued, taking a deep breath so that he would be able to say what he needed to say, “I’m just not sure I’m ready for… I’m just not ready…”

Then Jamie pulled Scorpius in close and let out a big exhale, “Me, too…. I mean… If you were, then I think I would be, but really… I don’t think I am, either… I mean I want to… I really, REALLY do…. But not necessarily right now… I just want to be with you… in the little ways… and… I think we’ll know, right?... I mean, I hope so.”

Then Scorpius pulled away and looked at Jamie with the most quizzical look in his face, like he was trying to calculate something, “Do you think so… that we’ll know?”

Then Jamie started to laugh, “I hope so… I mean, I think at least we wouldn’t be this nervous.”

“That makes sense.” Scorpius said with a nod as he walked into the Castle.

“Well, I’m glad it makes sense to you, because to be honest a lot of times I really don’t make sense to myself.” Jamie said walking by his side.

“I hope I didn’t ruin any of your surprises.” Scorpius thought.

Jamie laughed, “No actually… I kind of… I wasn’t really planning for that. I don’t actually know what I would have done if you did want to. The bed the other day kind of surprised me, but it did give me an idea…”

“Oh?” Scorpius said looking at him, “Now I am kind of intrigued.”

“Well, you’ll see when we get there.” Jamie gave him a little grin and pulled him along.

 

\------^^^^-------

 

When Jamie opened the door to the Room of Requirement, Scorpius saw what he meant. The bed was still there, but around the room there were all kinds of things for them to do. There was a tabletop quidditch game, a snooker table, wizarding chess and what looked like a vat of hot chocolate and an entire platter of biscuits and cauldron cakes.

“When I saw the bed the other day, it did make me think that spending the night with you would be great, because I’d really like to wake up with you…” Then he motioned around, “So, I know we have to get up for classes tomorrow, but I was thinking maybe a sleep over?”

Scorpius looked around, speechless.

“I hope you don’t mind,” Jamie continued, “I had the house elves sneak up some clothes for you, and there’s a bathroom, so I think we have everything we need.”

“It’s fantastic. I love it.” Scorpius was practically jumping with excitement. “Let’s play the quidditch first. I’m pretty good at this…” Scorpius said pulling out his wand to play, “I think I’ll crush you.” Then he looked at Jamie… “Wanna make it interesting?”

Jamie looked at him, “What do you mean?”

“Maybe strip tabletop quidditch?” Scorpius raised an eyebrow. “Oh, and to sweeten the pot, I’ll throw in what I’ve got in my pocket.”

“Wasn’t that my gift?” Jamie asked.

“Well, now you’ll need to win it.” Scorpius smiled his best devious smile.

“Oh, yeah? You’re on… and, I don’t even try to think you’re going to win.” Jamie pulled out his wand and gave Scorpius the best leer he could manage through the grin that had overtaken his face.

 

\------^^^^------

 

When morning finally came, Jamie rolled over to see his boyfriend lying in the bed next to him. He checked the time and realized they still had about twenty minutes before they really needed to get up in time to make breakfast. So, Jamie scooted himself a little closer to Scorpius and wrapped his arm around him, pulling him into a hug. As he felt Scorpius nudge himself in closer he closed his eyes and breathed in the scent of Scorpius’ hair in the morning.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Poem is Catallus 48, which can be translated as:
> 
> Iuventius, if I were allowed to  
> kiss your honey-sweet eyes, again  
> and again I would kiss them - up to  
> three hundred thousand times,  
> and still I would not be sated,  
> not even if I kissed you as  
> densely as the harvest grain.


	12. It's Not All Fun And Games

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things start to turn a bit more serious at Hogwarts as students are showing more signs of trouble... but some help might be on the way.

On Tuesday evening Draco Malfoy sat in his study and looked at the two letters he’d received by owl from Hogwarts that day. One was from his son, and the other from Lin Williams. They were both, in turn, disconcerting and heartwarming, and Draco felt strangely powerless in the face of their contents. The note from Lin was the more businesslike of the two.

_Draco,_

_I know you’re planning to visit in just a few days, but I have some news I didn’t want to sit on. Yesterday, Jamie Potter pulled me aside to share some concerns he has about Scorpius’ state of mind. Apparently, a number of students have been evidencing some behavioral changes over the past month that are similar to the effects of the Dragons’ Snare derivative found last term, and Scorpius is one of them. He seems to be experiencing increased levels of anxiety (more than his normal level of worry), and Jamie was concerned enough that he sought me out for counsel and to prompt me to action. Without explicitly saying so, he asked me to contact both you and Harry, and he seems to have some sense of what we’ve been working on._

_I’ve sent a note to Harry, and told him that we’ll need to move the investigation more quickly or be forced to alert the staff at Hogwarts. McGonagall will have his nuts if she finds out he’s been withholding information from her that’s effecting the wellbeing of her students._

_In the meantime, I’ll be keeping a close eye on Scorpius myself and I know Jamie will, as well. Jamie Potter may seem a little impetuous at times, but he actually has a good head on his shoulders and is wise enough to know when he needs help. That’s my sideways, trying very hard not to butt into your business, way of saying I think your son has chosen himself a solid boyfriend._

_Please let me know what you’re thinking, and if you’d like me to take any specific action. If I don’t hear from you before, we can catch up when I see you this weekend._

_Lin_

The note from Scorpius was completely different in tone, but still unsettled Draco, though for completely different reasons.

_Dear Dad,_

_First off, thank you again so much for help with the tickets to the Bowtruckle show! Jamie absolutely loved the gift, and he’s really looking forward to going when they play Hogsmeade next month._

_Also, I know this isn’t the kind of news we usually share, but I had the best Valentine’s Day of my life, and I’m really bursting to tell someone. I can’t really tell Albus because it involves Jamie, and I worry that it’s too awkward for him. I hope it’s not too weird for you._

_In short, it was perfect. We went night flying (my plan), and I was able to charm an illuminated “Happy Valentine’s Day” for him in the night sky. Afterward we had a slumber party in the Room of Requirement (did I tell you we’d found the Room?). Rest assured, it wasn’t anything for you to worry about; we played tabletop quidditch, wizarding chess and snooker; ate sweets, drank hot chocolate, and then fell asleep together. It was the best night. I can’t even try to convey how perfect it was. I am so happy._

_However, the biggest and most amazing part of it all was that he told me he loves me. I hope that doesn’t upset you, because it was the most wonderful thing I’ve ever heard._

_I know that we don’t normally talk about things like this, and that this is something I probably would have shared with mother. However, I really needed to share this with someone… and I wanted to tell you. Although, I think that it’s actually a little easier by letter. I’m not sure I could have told you all of this face to face – maybe someday._

_In other news, quidditch practice is going well, and I can see myself moving up to the regular squad next year. I also received my essay on the English wizarding community’s response to the peasant rebellions of the 16th Century back, and I earned an “O.” Oh, and I almost forgot, Albus got into the magical creatures summer program in the States that he’d applied to! I can tell he’s excited, but also a little nervous._

_I hope you’re having a nice week, and thanks again for everything._

_Love,_

_Scorpius_

  
Draco looked down at the letter. His son was in love. Even though he knew it to be true, it was still hard for him to picture the little boy who’d once been so nervous about boarding the Hogwarts Express that his mother had resorted to bribing him with sweets as being old enough to fall in love. Of course, there was also the ridiculous irony that the person his son had fallen for was Harry Potter’s son, but given their history it was almost an inevitability that this would happen.

Then he looked over Lin’s letter. That was the more disconcerting of the two. While Scorpius’ letter simply prompted typical parental concern, Lin’s letter was jarring. He knew Lin was trying to keep him from becoming upset, particularly because it wasn’t clear what could be done about the situation. Even so, he’d let him know because Scorpius was in trouble, and all the oversight from well meaning friends and boyfriends wasn’t going to change that. Draco decided he needed to see Harry right away. This was Potter’s investigation, and he needed to take steps to ensure the safety of his child as well as any other students who might be at risk. Draco would see that happened even if he had to resort to threats or bribes (not that either would likely do much good where Potter was concerned).

In less than five minutes Draco was walking into Harry’s office at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He watched as his assistant used a transmitting parchment to notify Harry of his presence, and was gratified to see Harry’s immediate response appear: Send him in, please.

“I presume you know why I’m here, Potter.” Draco intoned as he walked into Harry’s office.

“Yes, I was just reading over Lin’s note.”

“So, what do you propose to do?” Draco could feel himself getting angry, and he didn’t want to lose his cool. He and Potter may be friendly now, but he still was wary of exposing cracks to the man. “It was fine while you were using me, but this is Scorpius.”

“I know.” Harry’s brow furrowed as he searched for what to say. The problem was he really had no idea what to say. Up until this morning he had no sense there was a problem at the school again, and they had no idea what the scope of the problem was or what was driving it. He certainly didn’t want to risk anyone’s health, least of all Scorpius’, but he also didn’t want to compromise the tenuous leads they’d established in their investigation. He’d spent too long trying to track down this particular cell of activity and wasn’t willing to let it crumble to dust… at least not without a fight.

“Is that all you have to say, Potter?… Because ‘I don’t know’ isn’t an acceptable answer. I need something from you, some reason not to go storming into Hogwarts to fetch my son and move him somewhere I can trust he’ll be safe.” Draco was really getting strident now, and Harry could see that he was doing everything he could to be civil. He certainly didn’t blame him, and actually marveled at how well controlled he was. If it had been Jamie or Al, or Lily, Harry knew he wouldn’t have much composure.

“Okay. Look, I know this is a crap situation, but we need to try to preserve what we can of the project while we ensure everyone’s safety. There aren’t a huge number of people I trust, but I think we can pull together a team to manage this. Here’s what I’m thinking….”

Then Harry laid out a plan for Draco that included recruiting Lin’s daughter, Zora to pose as an instructor in training (Harry would come up with a plausible cover that he thought he could sell to McGonagall), having Victoire run tests on every student under the guise of some kind of new school health service, and, most improbable of all, actually enlisting the help of the children in rooting out the school problem.

“You want our children to participate in this?” Draco asked, incredulous.

“Well, they’re actually already a part, they just haven’t fully connected the dots. They’re investigating already. We’d just connect with that so we can provide them some leadership and coordinated protection.” Harry explained.

“But, they’re children, Harry.” Draco was shaking his head.

“They may be, but remember, we were their age…”

“I know we were, but if you think that our parents would have purposefully put us in that situation…” Draco suddenly stopped short.

Harry looked at Draco with astonishment, unsure if he should say out loud that Draco’s parents had, in fact, done exactly that. They’d chosen to put their child in the most horrible role imaginable. Then, he watched Draco’s face flash so many emotions that he wasn’t sure if he’d made a terrible mistake.

Draco felt himself filling with frustration and rage. He felt rage at Harry for proposing that he use his son as a pawn in this fight, rage at his own parents for having done that to him, and rage at the world in general for putting him in this situation. He had sworn to himself that he would never use Scorpius in the way that he’d been used, and now he felt himself to be on the precipice of doing just that. He knew this was different because this time he was on the side of what was right, but it was still a potential abuse of their relationship. If Astoria were here she would help him see the way, but she wasn’t. He was on his own, and he needed to do the right thing for his son.

As Draco thought through the situation Harry remained very still, acutely aware of what he was asking of Draco. He knew how close to the line he was walking, and that he needed Draco to make the next decision. Then Draco spoke.

“I won’t agree to this without Scorpius’ full and free consent. I was planning to go up to Hogwarts at the end of the week, and I’ll speak with him then. If he’ll agree to it, then I will, but I won’t pressure him to do it. If he shows even the slightest trace of reluctance I won’t agree.”

Harry nodded. “You’re right. We should make sure the kids understand what they’d be signing up for. Why don’t we take them all out for brunch on Saturday? That’ll give us a reason to make the trip up to school, and we can talk with them before hand, one-on-one. I’ll alert Hermione so that she or Ron can join us. I’m sure that we’ll need to include Rose, as well.”

“I’ll owl Scorpius and let him know.”

“I’ll contact the kids, and also speak with Lin about Zora… I think I can arrange to get her on loan from the New York office… Or, Hermione can.” Harry took a deep breath, then, and added, “Thank you Draco. We’ll keep our kids safe.”

“You can’t promise that, Potter, but I do trust you will do your best.” Then Draco turned and went home to write a letter he definitely did not want to write.

 

\------^^^^------

 

A minute or two later a trio of thoughts jumped in Harry’s mind.

First, he realized that he’d have to speak with Blaise Zabini about all of this. Carlos was also involved, and he couldn’t risk crossing the man. He wasn’t looking forward to it, and he wondered if there was any way he could maneuver Hermione into having the conversation for him. She was way to smart to get fooled by a trick, so he’d probably have to resort to simple begging.

Second, he was hit by the fact that he was going to have to inform his wife that he was basically conscripting their kids for an investigation. She wasn’t going to like it one bit, and he could already feel her tipping back on her heels in protective mother mode. He’d have to come up with a plan to console, reassure and distract her in some way…

Most interestingly, he realized that Draco had admitted that he had already intended on visiting Hogwarts this week, but had not told Scorpius. He savored the moment of having potential confirmation of Draco’s little secret. Good for him. He’d been alone for over two years now, and if he’d found something of interest in Lin Williams, that wasn’t a bad thing. And, that piece of information might be something he could share with Ginny to help soften the news about the kids…

 

\------^^^^------

 

 _I must be insane,_ Scorpius thought to himself as he laced up his shoes at 5:45 in the morning. He looked out the charmed windows on the wall of his dorm room and thought that it looked cold in addition to being basically pitch black. The sun wouldn’t be up for at least two more hours. Winters in Scotland were not necessarily snowy, but they were dark.

When he’d pulled on his running clothes and a thick coat he wandered out to the common room to meet up with Professor Williams. As of yet, he was still the only student who regularly joined their DADA Professor and Head of House on these early morning runs, although Yann and Susan did join on a semi-regular basis, and he guessed that a few others might join in once the weather improved a bit.

“Ready?” Williams asked, a little too keenly.

“Sure, I guess.” Scorpius tried to look enthusiastic. “Let’s get going.”

Williams gave a little _lumos_ charm and they had lighting to show them the way. He had managed to get McGonagall to give him a dispensation for these early morning runs so that he could take the students over a cleared path during the dark and/or snowy weather, which meant the road to Hogsmeade. They could make the run to the village in about fifteen minutes if they kept up a good clip. Sometimes they even made it a little faster if Williams pushed for a few sprints. On those occasions they’d include a bit of the village on their circuit. Even though the runs were challenging Scorpius found them invigorating and he enjoyed learning more of the nooks and crannies of the town. Hogsmeade wasn’t huge, but it had actually grown a bit over the years, having become more of a summer getaway and retirement locale for the wizarding community since the rebuilding after the war.

As they looped back toward the school, Williams eased off a bit on the pace and started some conversation. “So, how’s your first month been? We haven’t talked too much about how classes are going.”

“Good, I think. Although I’ll be worried about my OWLs until the last exam is done.” Scorpius admitted.

“You’re keeping up your studies, though, right?”

“Yes. Rose worked up a pretty comprehensive schedule for me.” Scorpius said, wondering if his Professor was trying to ask if Jamie was a distraction and, if so, how that was really Williams’ business.

It must not have been a big concern for him, though, because Williams laughed a little in response. “She’s a bit serious, that one.”

“She is, I guess… although she has a new friend… So, maybe that will round her out a bit.”

“Do you mean Vi?” Williams asked about the 6th year who’d joined his house halfway through the year.

“Yes, they met over the holidays… at our party, actually… You know her parents.” Scorpius said, considering how odd it was that somehow his life had become strangely intertwined with Professor Williams’.

“Right, the French Liaison.”

“Anyway, I think Vi kind of moderates her a little…”.

They ran a little further without talking, then Williams broke in again. “Scorpius, I was wondering something.”

“Yes?” Scorpius responded, wondering what the question was.

“I was thinking of reopening the gym. It seems like students are getting a little tense, and I thought some more physical outlets might be helpful. I’ll discuss it with McGonagall, of course, but I wanted to get your thoughts first. Would you be interested in that? Would it bother you?”

“Do you mean would I worry about it… given what happened last term?” Scorpius asked.

“Yes, and also do you think it would be useful.”

“Yeah, I think it’d be useful. I would likely come back. I know Jamie would appreciate it. He’s been a bit edgy lately, and he’d probably appreciate having something other than quidditch to work on. He’s not quite able to get himself up for these runs.”

“That’s true. Six in the morning is a little early for some. Particularly given how late some students study.” Williams reflected. “Well, thank you for your thoughts. I’ll let you know what comes of it.”

Before he knew it, they were rounding the turn back toward the school entrance and making their way back to the Dungeon. With an exchange of “see you laters” Scorpius headed back to his dorm room, and Williams to his quarters to get ready for another school day.

 

\-------^^^^-------

 

By noon that day Scorpius, Albus, Jamie and Rose had all received owls from their parents informing them of the impending “family” brunch on Saturday, and they were busy chatting about that and their plans for the upcoming “Hogwarts” weekend.

“Do you have a moment?” Jamie asked Scorpius as he sat down next to him.

“Sure,” Scorpius said with a smile.

“Actually, can you come outside… It’s…” Jamie wasn’t sure how to categorize it, but he knew he needed to tell Scorpius that he knew why their parents were coming up this weekend.

Scorpius looked at Jamie a little warily, but nodded and got up. When they were out in the hallway, Jamie started.

“I know why our parents are coming this weekend, and it’s not just to see us.”

“Oh?” Scorpius said, starting to worry that maybe their parents had decided they weren’t keen on Jamie and Scorpius dating… He had just sent that owl to his dad.

“I told Professor Williams about your anxiety attack the other day, and kind of told him to tell our parents.” Jamie admitted.

“What?” Scorpius was getting a little upset. He didn’t want his dad to get worried or to treat him like a child. “It wasn’t that big a deal, Jamie… Just…”

“I know, but Carlos talked to me and he was worried… And, I just… I don’t want anything to happen to you. We have no idea what’s going on, and you know they’ve been investigating something. I just didn’t want to risk…” Jamie was holding Scorpius’ hands in his, hoping he’d understand.

“Merlin, Jamie. My dad is so overprotective. It really wasn’t that big a deal… I mean… Now we’re going to have to back him off the ledge…” Scorpius was envisioning his father demanding he spend the rest of the year studying from the Manor, and Scorpius did not want to leave Jamie. Not now.

“I’m sorry, Scorpius. I was just worried.” Jamie didn’t know what else to say.

Scorpius sighed and looked at him, “I know, and even though I’m irritated that you’ve probably got my dad up to Alarm Level One, I know why you did it. We’ll just have to find a way to reassure him.”

Jamie pulled Scorpius into his arms and nuzzled into his neck, then said, “We’ll figure something out. I know we will. I’ll come up with a plan.”

Scorpius started to laugh at that. “Of course you will.” Then he thought about it a moment, “Actually, I might have an idea, as well.”

 

\------^^^^------

 

Later Wednesday afternoon Scorpius and Jamie met up by the quidditch pitch between practice sessions. As they spoke they noticed some of the Slytherin and Gryffindor players giving them decidedly curious looks. Karl, Tom and Emma, in particular were looking decidedly displeased at the intra-team fraternization, even though it was hardly a new thing. On the Gryffindor side, Jamie noticed Alex Davies and Gerry Pike watching them and the Slytherins, as well.

“Do you think that’s just because of the game in a couple of weeks?” Scorpius asked, “Or do we need to put them on the ‘watch list,’ too?”

“I don’t know.” Jamie answered, rubbing his head. “To be honest, this seemed more exciting before, but now that it’s really become a thing…”

“It’s serious?” Scorpius completed his thought.

“Yeah, it’s serious, and it makes me worry.”

“Welcome to my world, Jamie Potter.” Scorpius quipped, giving him a little sly smile.

“Alright, stinger. I hear you.” Jamie sighed. “So, you talk to Albus?”

“Yes, and you spoke with Rose?”

Jamie nodded, then asked “What are your plans later?”

“Well….”

“Library???” Jamie inquired with a tease.

“Maybe… Did you have something better to offer?”

“Actually, I was thinking we should stop by the Room to check and make sure that it’s more ‘group friendly’ before our meeting tomorrow night.”

Right, Scorpius realized this would be the first gathering of their investigative team in their new location, and he didn’t want them walking in on the ginormous red velvet bed, either. He cringed internally to think of Rose, Albus, Ben and Carlos taking a look at that. “Okay. How about nine?”

“Sounds perfect, see you then, if not at dinner.” Jamie confirmed with a kiss.

 

\-------^^^^-------

 

Scorpius reached the room first and entered. The space had already reconfigured itself into the perfect space for their work. There was a large table at one end, ideal for spreading out any work they needed to go over, as well as a bulletin board and a large writing board that could double as a screen. There was also a seating area with ample chairs and couches. Along one side of the room were a trove of bookcases and storage bins for any documents or materials they might need. And, within that wall there were also a couple of doors.

“What do you think is in here?” Scorpius asked walking toward the door on the far end of the room.

When they opened it, a state of the art potions lab was revealed. “Michael’s going to love this.” Jamie thought out loud as they walked into the room. “I guess he’ll have more work to do, then.”

“Probably.” Scorpius added, “If it’s something we’re being exposed to, we’ll want him to test things out, and it is safer if he’s working here than in the shared lab. Who knows who has access to that.”

“That’s true. The more work we can keep in here, the better. Let’s go check out the other one.” Jamie added, heading toward the door that was nearer the entrance to the room.

When he turned the handle, that door opened into a cozy bedroom. “I guess the Room still wants us to have somewhere to sleep?” Jamie suggested with a sweet shrug.

“Maybe…” Scorpius answered, raising an eyebrow at the knowledge that not everything Jamie was thinking of was entirely innocent.

“Perhaps we should give it a closer inspection now?” Jamie offered suggestively, prompting a blush and a smile from Scorpius.

“Alright,” Scorpius conceded, stepping forward to help Jamie pull his shirt off. “I suppose I can indulge you.”

“I don’t remember this being such a chore for you before…” Jamie laughed, tickling Scorpius under his shirt and making him squirm as he worked his way toward Scorpius’ pants to undo his belt.

“Well, you know, I have been working this dastardly plan on behalf of my house to exhaust a key layer on the opposing team…” Scorpius explained as he freed himself of the remainder of his clothing, and helped Jamie to do the same.

Then they tumbled onto the bed and Scorpius thought to himself how much he was enjoying this. As Jamie trailed his fingers down Scorpius’ spine and nibbled on his neck Scorpius considered how knowledgeable they were becoming about each other and what they both preferred. Scorpius held that thought as his hand skimmed over Jamie’s smooth, round arse, moved over his hip, and came to rest encircling Jamie’s hardening cock, and then whispered, “I love you, Jamie Potter.”

Jamie paused his foray on Scorpius’ neck and answered, “I love you, too, Scorpius Malfoy, and I especially love all your lovely parts.” Then he pulled back and rolled Scorpius onto his back and added, “And, if you hold very still, I’ll show you just how much.”

Scorpius nodded enthusiastically, not knowing if he’d be able to contain his glee.

 

\------^^^^------

 

Thursday afternoon Jamie and Aishah both managed to engineer excuses that would allow them to try to sneak into the kitchen offices while the staff was on their break between the bustle of lunch and dinner rush. They met up in a corridor that was just off the main hallway to the kitchen offices.

“Okay, Jamie Potter.” Aishah said. “I’m here, and I brought my camera. What’s your plan?”

“No real plan, actually. I’ve just been watching them, and if their normal daily schedule holds we should have at least thirty minutes if not an hour before Mrs. Brazier and Tom come back to begin the afternoon.”

“So, that’s it? We just wing it?”

“Well, I do have a little alarm system planned. You’ll see.” He smiled.

As they walked down the hallway to the offices, Aishah asked, “Well, how are we going to get in?”

“We walk in. They don’t lock the doors.”

“They don’t lock them?” Aishah said, a little incredulous.

“Well, I guess they haven’t considered that anyone would want to break into their offices. I mean, would you want to if this weren’t going on?”

“No, but it is.” She answered.

“But they don’t know that anyone has any idea…, and habits die hard.”

When they got to the door that led to the kitchen and offices Jamie reached out, and, sure enough, it opened right up. Then he pulled a couple of gum balls out of his pocket and gave them a chew, spat out the partially chewed gum, and tore off small pieces to stick on either side of the door at about waist height.

“What’s that?” Aishah asked with a little grimace.

“That’s the alarm. I charmed them so that if someone walks between these two pieces the gum that’s in my mouth will begin to fizzle.” He explained popping the remainder of the gum back in to his mouth.

“That’s so cool. When’d you learn to do that?” She asked.

“I came up with it. Charms is kind of my thing, you know… That’s partly why I took the NEWT early.”

She nodded at that, happy to at least have some measure of security.

They walked through the outer door and then found their way to Mrs. Brazier’s office. It was a bit of a mess. Organization clearly wasn’t her strong suit. On the other hand, if it was already messy, they didn’t have to worry as much about setting everything back to right when they were done. They set to the task of finding anything that would help them with the investigation. In particular, they were looking for ledgers, orders or shipping bills from des Jardins, or other similar paperwork. After about fifteen minutes they’d located the ledger and what looked like a file of order and shipping paperwork. Aishah took on photographing the ledger while Jamie did the same with the order file. Suddenly Jamie’s head popped up.

“Someone’s here.” He said, making a kind of strange shape with his mouth. “Quick, get in here.”

He pulled Aishah into the office closet and they held very still, listening. They could hear voices in the kitchen hallway near the door to the office, but couldn’t really make them out. Jamie thought one of them might be Tom, but he wasn’t sure. He definitely didn’t know who the other voice was, but it sounded like it might belong to one of the house elves who worked on the kitchen staff.

They waited silently, both listening very closely to see if the people outside had moved on or not. Jamie looked down once and could see Aishah’s eyes looking at him with a ‘we had better not get caught, Potter!’ Expression in them to which he could only grimace and shrug.

After about five minutes, it seemed that the coast was clear. Jamie’d felt the sense of someone passing through the gum wards again, and assumed that it was whomever it was leaving. Aishah opened the door slowly and looked into the room through the crack.

“Looks okay.” She said, then moved into the room.

Jamie followed, “We better quickly finish with these and then get out.”

Aishah nodded, and they quickly snapped the rest of the photos they thought they’d need. Aishah carefully opened the door from Brazier’s office to the hallway and took a look. The coast looked clear again, so cleared the office and made their way out of the kitchens walking quickly but not running, just in case they were seen. As they made their way back out the main door, Jamie grabbed the wads of gum.

“Might want to work on these a little.”

“Why?” Aisha asked, “They seemed to work.”

“Yes, but I have to admit the fizz was a little more of a sting, which wasn’t all that pleasant. Also, I’d like to fine tune it a little so that I can better tell how many…” Jamie was looking at the wads of chewed gum and considering adaptations he could make to the charm to make them work better.

When they were clear of the hallway, they stopped.

“We’ll take a look at these tonight?” Aishah said.

“Oh… Yeah… You know… Can I get back to you? I think I can meet tonight, but I need to check in…”

“With Scorpius?” Aishah smiled at him.

“Sort of.” Jamie answered, thinking that Aishah hadn’t yet been made an official part of their team, and he felt like he should ask the others before he just brought her along. “Can I get back to you at dinner?”

“Sure. Just let me know. If not, we could probably check into them on Sunday afternoon.”

 

\------^^^^------

 

It turned out that Jamie wasn’t able to give Aishah an answer that night because there was a turn of events at dinner that superseded his ability to discuss the idea of bringing Aishah into their group with anyone. It was a fight. It seemed to start when Karl Jenkins stopped by the Gryffindor table and started trying to goad Jamie into a fight. Before Jamie could even respond, though, Alex Davies jumped in on his behalf and started poking Karl in the chest, telling him what for. Then Tom Goyle joined in and before anyone knew what was going on Gerry Pike was in there shoving and yelling, too. It wasn’t more than a minute before punches were being thrown and other students were jumping into the fray trying to pull them apart.

While the first group was going at each other, Scorpius noticed that still other students were driven to fits of indigence or puddles of tears depending on their emotional states. It was all a bit overwhelming and as Scorpius looked for Jamie, hoping that he wasn’t caught in the middle of things, he began to feel a bit tight himself.

From his side of the room Jamie scanned the scene, trying to figure out what to do, and saw Scorpius who was now sitting at the end of the Slytherin table, head between his knees looking like he was trying not to succumb to an anxiety attack. Carlos sat next to him, rubbing his back. Albus and and Phoebe were simply trying to stay out of the way of those students who were in the fight and those who were fleeing in fear, and Aisha was perched on the end of the Gryffindor table taking notes next to an angry looking Rose who was standing atop the table and shouting at her fellow teammates that they were being ridiculous and that if they had any common sense at all they’d hold their energy for the quidditch pitch. No one was listening.

Jamie looked at Michael and Ben with a shrug, and they redoubled their efforts to try to bring some order to the scene by separating the involved Gryffindors from the scrum. Suddenly, he felt himself being pulled back by a force and noticed that Karl, Tom, Alex and Gerry had all been restrained by a rather effective _brachiabindo_. He looked around to see what had happened and saw Professor Williams standing with his wand out, wearing a very stern look on his face. It must have been only a minute more before all the students realized that the fighting had ceased, because the room quieted down rather quickly.

The entire room turned to look at their headmistress who was positively shaking with anger. They could only begin to speculate as to what would come next. Everyone knew she’d administer some kind of punishment for the participants who were standing immobilized, but still fuming, near the Gryffindor table, but they had no idea what was in store for the rest of them.

“What, in the names of Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin do you think you’re doing?” She directed her fury first at the instigating parties. “This is a school, and we expect our students to maintain a minimum level of decorum. You are not rabble.” Then she turned to the rest of the students, “And, I expect the rest of you to behave in an appropriate manner, as well. I’ll be speaking with your heads of house about this… there will be consequences.”

With that, the students appeared to be dismissed, and Scorpius and Carlos sat looking at one another, unsure what to do next.

Scorpius felt Jamie at his side “Hey, you okay?” He asked.

“Yes, not too bad, actually, or at least better now. How about you?”

“Okay.” Jamie looked around, “This is a mess, isn’t it.”

“Yeah… What do you think McGonagall will do?”

“No, idea, but I have to think that the four of them” Jamie motioned over to the still bound quidditch players, “could face suspensions… definitely suspensions from extracurriculars. Our teams could take a bit of a hit..” Jamie paused then tapped Carlos on the shoulder. “Beyond that, what did you see? I assume there’s a connection?”

Carlos nodded. “Definitely. Karl and Alex were the start of it, and they both are people we’ve been watching. Tom and Gerry were also on our list, and some of the others were definitely showing symptoms.”

“Rose.” Jamie offered. “I noticed.”

“Right, like Rose, and many others.”

 

\------^^^^-------

 

At nine that night, Jamie and Scorpius waited outside the Room of Requirement to help everyone find their way. As the members arrived, they immediately started poking around the room, which had reconfigured itself slightly by changing the bedroom into more of a bunkhouse style room than the cozy bedroom it had been just the day before.

Once everyone was assembled, they sat down in the seating area and Jamie began.

“Since we met last there have been a couple of developments. Obviously, everyone saw the fight this evening. In addition, Scorp, Rose’s, and Al and my parents are coming up this weekend… and I’m fairly sure it’s to discuss what’s going on. Finally, I’ve been investigating some purchasing irregularities with Aishah, and I have a strong hunch there’s a tie between those and what’s happening here.”

Everyone nodded, thinking over the events of just that evening.

“Before we get on to the second and third things, perhaps we should see if there’s anyone we should add to the ‘watch’ list? I’m sure everyone has people they noticed tonight, if not before, and Carlos might have some ideas, as well…” Ben offered.

“Sounds good, how about we just go round the room and see who needs to be added?” Jamie suggested, looking like he was going to pass the parchment that contained the names to Liz who was seated on his left.

As the list was passed around the room, several names were added including Trina Wilkes, Lawrence Kettering, and Mac Martin.

“Okay, so that gets us up to a total of forty-three students we’re fairly certain are at risk. We’ll just continue to keep watch…” Jamie started.

“And, you’re thinking that your parents are here to talk about this?” Paul asked.

“Yes,” Scorpius interjected, “I had a bit of an anxiety attack the other day, and Carlos and Jamie thought it was out of the ordinary. So, Jamie talked to Professor Williams. It could be just parental concern, but, given what we picked up over the holidays, the fact that all of them are coming leads us to think they believe this is all connected. If it were just about me, only my father would be coming…or at least I have to think so.”

“When we see them on Sunday we’ll find out more about what they’re thinking.” Rose chimed in, “And see how they think they can help?”

“I think so.” Jamie said.

“I think they may have said something to my father.” Carlos considered.

“How so?” Jamie asked.

“Well, he sent me an owl that arrived this morning, which was rather sideways and obtuse – not unusual for him – but it did imply that I should contact him immediately if I felt at all concerned about events at the school. If they think this is something connected to what they’re doing, and they know I’m involved on this end, it makes sense they’d talk to my dad. He does work with them at DMLE.” Carlos laughed a little to himself, “and they’d want to avoid upsetting him. My dad’s not the forgetful type.”

“I guess we’ll update everyone on that next time. Maybe we should plan to meet earlier than Tuesday? Is everyone available on Sunday?”

“Afternoon, I am.” Albus ventured, then the rest of the group chatted and they agreed that they’d move up the next meeting to Sunday at three in the afternoon.

“So what’s the other thing, with Aishah?” Phoebe asked.

“Right. So, I’ve been helping Aishah out with an investigation she was working on for the Crier, and I think it could be related.” Jamie started.

“How so?” Elizabeth asked.

With that, Jamie launched into a recitation of what they’d done so far and where they were in the investigation, noting that he felt the two situations were likely linked because (a) it would be likely that students were being affected by something they’d eaten and (b) the change in student behavior came around the same time as the shift in purchasing. “Granted, there’s no direct evidence, but the ties are strangely coincidental.”

“And, you’re not big on coincidences,” Scorpius broke in.

“No. I’m not…” Jamie smiled at him.

“So,” Jamie resumed, “If everyone’s in agreement, I think we should bring Aishah in to our investigation since it ties with hers.”

The group voiced a general agreement, then Carlos added, “We should also bring in Philippa. She doesn’t seem to be affected by whatever's going on, and I think it would make sense to also include Susan.” He looked at Paul and Michael.

Everyone agreed to that, as well. With that last piece of business concluded, the Thursday evening meeting was adjourned, but before everyone could leave Jamie pulled Michael aside. “Did you see the lab?” He asked.

“Yeah, it’s fantastic.” Michael said, “I guess I’ll have some work to do.”

“Looks like.” Jamie answered, “Oh, which reminds me..” He turned to the group who had returned to poking around the room. “It looks like we’ve got plenty of work space and storage here, so I think we should plan to keep everything related to the investigation in this room. It’s probably safer, and I don’t think anyone wants to get in a sticky situation about keeping tabs on other students.”

Scorpius looked around and noticed that some of them had already claimed drawers and cabinets and were divesting themselves of notes. He was certain that everyone felt uneasy about running around with names amongst their papers. Albus, in particular, looked deep in thought, and he wondered what his friend was mulling over.

 

\------^^^^------

 

When the last pigmy puff was placed back in its house, Albus gave himself a good shake and took a deep breath. He couldn’t have been happier that it was finally Friday. Even though he was a little leery about what might be in store during brunch tomorrow morning, he was looking forward to seeing his parents and to a Hogsmeade weekend. He and Phoebe had dinner plans, and it felt like it had been a very long time since they’d been alone, just the two of them. He looked up and saw her finishing up with the grindylow tanks and gave her a wave.

“You ready to go?” She asked as she walked over.

“Yes. Definitely.” He sighed again. “I’ve been thinking about things since yesterday night, and it seems like it would be a good idea to try to organize some activities to help reduce stress and maybe lighten the mood.” He suggested.

Phoebe laughed a little, “Lighten the mood, huh? I can’t say that’s exactly your bailiwick, but I get what you’re saying. Maybe some intra-house activities?”

Albus thought about it, “Yeah. I was thinking maybe some muggle movie nights. Uncle Ron has some silly ones that he really likes, ones which might just be light enough not to spark any negative reactions… Then I was thinking maybe Ghazali could lead some meditation classes...”

“I think that sounds like a great idea. Not too heavy, but something that might help.”

“Great, I’ll talk to Williams about it later.”

Phoebe gave Albus a little kiss before she turned toward the Gryffindor Tower, then turned back to add in a good hug. “Things are going to work out, Al. Try not to worry too much.”

“I’ll try, but, you know, it’s Scorpius.”

“I know, but he has a lot of people looking out for him.”

Albus nodded, but didn’t say anything.

“And, just because you care, doesn’t mean you’re responsible for everything.” She added, knowing how Albus had a tendency to take things to heart.

“I know.” Then, he tried for the best upbeat voice he could manage, “See you at dinner?”

“Yes, see you later.” With another kiss, she was headed off.

When Albus got to the Dungeon he noticed that the door to Williams office was open, and he thought he heard voices inside. So, he figured that now as as good as any to talk with Williams about his ideas.

When he got nearer, he could have sworn Williams was talking with Scorpius’ father, but when he got in the room, he didn’t see anything. Then Williams walked into his office from his suite, and it seemed like perhaps there hadn’t been anyone there.

“Hi Albus, can I help you?” He asked propping himself on the edge of his desk and folding his arms.

“Oh… well… I wanted to talk to you about what happened the other night.” Albus started.

“You mean the fight?” Williams responded.

“Yes. Well, I was thinking that it might help if we planned some activities to reduce stress and perhaps lighten the mood?” Albus started to suggest.

Williams nodded, “What did you have in mind?”

“Right now, two things. First, I think that we could schedule some muggle movies – the light comedy kind… My Uncle Ron has a collection of them, and they seem silly enough not to cause any kind of tension, and they might just get everyone’s mind off school stress.”

“I like that. I can think of some that could be fun.” Williams was nodding. “There was something else?”

“I was also thinking that we might be able to get Professor Ghazali to lead some meditation sessions… Just between you and me, that’s the only thing I ever found useful in divination classes, the mental clearing.” Albus could see that Williams was concealing a little bit of a laugh, so he continued, “And, he was helpful with Aishah’s column last fall. I think he might be up for it.”

“I think those both sound like good ideas. Simple, relatively easy to implement, and seemingly non-controversial. I can’t see why anyone would object. Did you want to talk to the Headmistress about them, or did you want me to do that?”

“Oh.” Albus stopped for a moment, not having thought about what came after talking to Williams about his ideas. “Well, I suppose I could talk with her, if you could also put in a good word?”

“I’m sure she’ll be okay with it. Why don’t you talk to your Uncle about rounding up the equipment for the movies. I might be able to get my hands on some, too.” Williams walked over and put his hand on Albus’ shoulder, steering him toward the door. “They’re really good ideas, Albus. I think they’ll be a help… I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

With that, Albus found himself walking out of Williams’ office and back to the Dungeon, relatively happy that he was on his way to doing something to improve the situation at the school. He might not be able to avert whatever was going on, but he could at least try to reduce the damage while it was all sorted out.

When Williams returned to his suite, Draco was waiting for him on the sofa. “That was deftly handled.” He said as he stood to cross the room toward Professor Williams.

“Hummm…” Williams thought to himself as Draco drew closer, “You know, we probably should talk to Scorpius sometime about this.”

“I know. I should…” Draco paused, his arm wrapped around Williams’ waist. “I just worry that maybe it’s too soon. He was so attached to his mother.”

Williams reached up and skimmed his fingers over Draco’s hair. “He’s attached to you, too, you know. I think he’d want to know. You don’t want him to find out some other way.”

“I know. Soon… In the meantime, we have a bit of time before our dinner reservations…” Then he smiled and drew Lin Williams in to a lingering kiss that was obviously going to lead to more.

 


	13. A Plan Is Put Into Motion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry lays out a plan. McGonagall makes some demands. Scorpius has a couple of ideas. Draco shares some news... And, there's hot chocolate.

“Scorpius…” Professor Williams is knocking at Scorpius’ and Albus’ dorm room door and trying to be quiet. It’s still 8:30 in the morning. “Scorpius, are you awake?” He says again, now peeking around the door.

Scorpius was up and ready, he’d been working on a translation for his Runes and Magical Languages class, and was deep in thought when the Professor knocked.

“Oh,” he looked up a little confused, “Yes, what is it?”

“Your father’s here. He wanted to speak with you this morning before brunch.”

“Oh, okay.” Scorpius tidied up his material and rose up to go, then stopped, “I should probably try to wake Albus up first.”

Then, Scorpius began the process of waking his best friend who normally would have risen at least thirty minutes ago on a Saturday, but because they were going to brunch that morning he’d moved his work with Hagrid to Sunday… Which meant he had no interest in rising any earlier than absolutely necessary. Scorpius poked and prodded him, chattered in his ear, and after about five minutes Albus was partly awake.

“I’ve got to go talk with my dad.” He explained. “We need to leave by 9:30, and I didn’t want you to be late.”

Albus gave Scorpius a sleepy nod and then rolled over. “Okay, then. I’ve still got a few minutes…”

Scorpius shrugged at his professor and followed him back to his office. His dad was inside looking surprisingly upbeat for an early morning.

“Good morning, father. What is it?” He asked as Williams left them alone in the office by continuing through to his suite.

“I wanted to talk to you about brunch today, and what we’re all going to discuss.” Draco started.

“Sure, I mean, I kind of have an idea of what it might be…” Scorpius paused to let his father pick up where he left off, and Draco went into an explanation of the proposed plan.

“The reason I wanted to talk to you before we met with everyone else is that it is very important to me that you understand what it is that we are asking you to do, and that you know that you can say ‘no’ if you want.” Draco concluded, then asked, “Do you have any questions for me?”

Scorpius was quiet for a while, thinking over everything his father had told him about his and Mr. Potter’s concerns over what was happening at the school and how they were planning to ensure that there was help on the ground at Hogwarts through both Professor Williams and his daughter, Zora.

“So,” Scorpius led off, “Did Professor Williams start his job here because they thought there might be problems at the school?”

“Not exactly,” Draco answered, “The DMLE has known that things were going on in Scotland, and they were concerned about the school. It was a bit of a useful coincidence, actually, that he was able to be placed when he was.”

Scorpius nodded, taking that in, “And, your company is involved because of whatever it is that Mr. Potter thinks is going on in Scotland?”

“Yes” Draco answered.

“Can you talk about that?”

“No, not yet. That part is still under investigation, and it’s not my information to share. I’ve taken a little liberty talking to you about it as much as I have. However, you seem to have gleaned some of the story already, and you are involved a bit. So, I feel you merit some trust and consideration based on those facts.”

“So, you’re not asking me to leave school?” Scorpius asked.

Draco looked at his son. “No, not at the moment, although the thought did cross my mind. I am very worried about you, and if you consent to this plan I need you to promise that you will rely on your friends and on Lin… Professor Williams… and Zora.”

“I will. I’m not exactly sure how I’d say ‘no’, though.” Scorpius considered.

“You just say ‘no.’” Draco answered. “It is that simple. You are not obligated to take part in this, or to do anything that you are not comfortable with. The things that are going on can be handled by other people, and I never want you to feel pressured to do anything you do not want to do.”

“But, they are happening… and we can help… So, I think I should, right?”

“I think that is up to you.”

“Okay.” Scorpius looked at his dad. “Do you need me to make it official, or something? Because I’m okay with it, really.”

“Very well. However, if you ever change your mind, or if there is anything that you have questions about or that you are uncomfortable with…” Draco pressed Scorpius again to ensure that he really understood that he had options.

“I know. I can say ‘no’ and I can come to you, or to anyone. I’ve got it.”

“Good.” Draco reached and pulled his son into a hug. “It is very important to me that you understand you have choices. You do not have to do anything to try to please me, or to please anyone else.”

“I’ve got it Dad, really, but thanks.”

 

\------^^^^------

 

While Draco was reassuring himself that Scorpius would be participating of his own free will, Harry had scheduled some time to speak with the Hogwarts Headmistress about what was happening at the school. As anyone might guess, she was not pleased.

“Harry Potter, do you mean to tell me you and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement have hatched this scheme, to be carried out at my school, with absolutely no consultation with me?” Minerva McGonagall was straining with the unhappy realization that not only had she not been brought into the decision making process but she also had virtually no say in the matter.

“I’m sorry, Professor.” Harry continued. “If we had known sooner the extent of the problem, and the potential impact on the students we could have…”

“Done what, exactly?” McGonagall demanded, “Enacted plans without my consent earlier?”

Harry sputtered a bit, knowing he really didn’t have a good answer for his mentor and friend.

“Harry, please don’t insult me by trying to come up with an excuse. What’s done is done. Now I’m making my demands.” She looked him in the eye with an unwavering gaze.

“If this is going to happen, I’ll need to be kept apprised of everything you plan to do at the school. I’ll also need to have final say on when we can alert parents of any issues that may come up. Finally, I want increased funding for the school. We’ve been scraping by on a pittance for years with the excuse that the Ministry was spending money on other post-war needs. Well, we’re far enough post-war for that to be a ridiculous sham. We’re training our future leaders here, and we need to improve the facilities and build the staff. In particular we need to improve our History of Magic instruction, Binns is adequate, and you and I both know his primary allure is the fact that as a ghost he requires no salary. I also need to be relieved of my instructional duties if I’m to spend sufficient time on administration and oversight of the school. We also need to upgrade our potions facilities and add new practice facilities for charms, spells and Defense of the Dark Arts… and the Herbology lab and greenhouses could use a major facelift… Many of the facilities we have were ‘make-do’ structures we put in place during the rebuild that we’ve ‘made-do’ with for two decades.”

Harry knew it wasn’t his call to allocate funding for Hogwarts, but he also knew that Minerva was right. The school had been repeatedly overlooked in favor of more pressing or popular funding needs, and there were many areas that needed dire attention. While they’d rebuilt the main structure, dorms and quidditch pitch immediately, many of the other facilities were merely thrown together with assurances that updates would happen ‘soon.’ It was clearly well past ‘soon.” He also thought her request might give him an opportunity.

“I see your point, and I’ll press Hermione to make the case for you…. I can’t make any assurances, of course, but you’re right that you’re due. Your request actually gives me an idea, though… Would you consider Teddy as a potential Transfiguration instructor?” Harry asked.

“Lupin?” McGonagall asked.

“Yes.” Harry continued, “If we could bring him in on a trial basis, I think I might be able to get him here right away and get some funds from DMLE to cover his salary for the remainder of the term along with that of Zora Williams. Those ‘temporary additions’ would immediately give you an opportunity to focus on the administrative work, and to make your case to as many members of the Ministry as you need.” Harry smiled at her, watching her appreciate the fact that he was giving her room to personally press former students to do the right thing by the school.

“I think that sounds like a fine idea, Harry…. Why don’t you look into it, and get back to me?” She then gave him a stern, headmistress look, “I will be expecting weekly updates from you, personally, on the progress of your investigation. I won’t accept evasion.”

“I understand, Professor.” Harry confirmed and smiled once again. “Well, I should run. I have to make sure my children are up and dressed for brunch. We’re headed to the Hearth today.”

“Please give my regards to Susan, then.” She finished up. “I look forward to hearing from you.”

 

\------^^^^------

 

By eleven that morning, everyone was well fed and wondering if they could possibly stuff down even one more delicious morsel. Susan Abbott and her staff had really outdone themselves and delivered another fine meal. Even Draco looked pleased.

Ron looked around the room, and caught a look from Harry that said, ‘now’s the time.’ He stretched and patted himself on the stomach then turned to the group “Well, that was fantastic.” Then he sighed and looked at his son, “Hugo, I was thinking of making a couple of stops while I’m here… maybe Zonko's, The Superior Snitch, and Flourish & Blotts… Do you want to come?”

“Sure!” Hugo answered, recognizing an opportunity to engineer some parental indulgence.

Ginny looked at the two of them, “Actually, I wanted to look for some things as well. Lily, how do you feel about a little mother/daughter shopping?”

Lily looked at her mom, uncle and cousin, and then around the room at her other family members and the Malfoys and knew something was up. Part of her wanted to make a fuss for being left out of whatever was on the agenda, but that part of her was shouted down by the other part of her that knew that if her mother was trying to lure her away from a private conversation she had a much better chance of extorting some really great new outfits. So, she smiled her sweetest, youngest-Potter smile and said “Sure, mum, that sounds really great.”

As Ron and Ginny escorted their youngest children out of the restaurant’s private dining room, Lily turned and quickly stuck her tongue out at her brothers.

“I told you she’d know.” Albus said to Jamie.

“Of course. The question is… how much do you think she’ll get out of our mum?” Jamie smirked back at his brother. “She really knows how to work it, doesn’t she?”

“You’re one to talk,” Albus said, “I think she learned most of what she knows from you, Golden Boy.”

“Alright.” Harry interrupted before his sons could really get going. “I think you all have some idea why we’re here today. There’s a bit of a situation brewing at Hogwarts, and while we have some ideas of how to deal with it from the outside we’re going to need your help in dealing with it from the inside.”

“We hope that it won’t take more than a couple of weeks to figure out what’s going on and deal with it,” Hermione picked up where Harry left off, “But even so, we want you all to know that this is not something you have to be involved in. It’s perfectly okay to not participate and to bow out at any time.”

Scorpius looked at his dad and thought he must have really given Mr. Potter and Mrs. Weasley-Granger a hard time about making sure everyone was doing this by choice. He reached over and squeezed his dad’s hand to reassure him that he was participating willingly.

Harry then went on to detail their plan. Zora Williams would be joining the school on loan from the New York aurors’ offices and would arrive in the next week to begin assisting with Muggle Studies and to act as another set of eyes and ears on the ground… and someone they could go to with questions or concerns. Everyone at the school would be tested to help identify what the cause of the behavioral changes might be. Harry would be assigning some local aurors to the case to take a closer look at all the suppliers to Hogwarts, including des Jardins.

“Does anyone have any questions or thoughts?” He added when he was more or less finished.

“Actually, yes.” Scorpius spoke up, “I have something.”

“Shoot” Harry said.

“Well…” Scorpius started, “I’ve been thinking about why the school was targeted, and the best idea I can come up with is that we make the perfect lab. We’re generally not wandering around doing things, so whoever is doing this can really get a sense of how different substances effect a population of people.”

Harry leaned in, listening while Scorpius continued.

“If that’s the case I think we ought to take advantage of the situation they’ve created. Why don’t we treat this as a lab, too? They don’t know it, but we know which students have likely been affected because Carlos can see it, sort of… We could have everyone who seems to be exhibiting behavioral changes make specific adjustments in their diet… I assume it has to be something we’re eating or everyone would be showing signs, right?... Anyway, if we do that, and someone is monitoring their vitals and Carlos is keeping an eye on them, we can see what makes a difference…. And, now that we have a really nice lab on site, Michael could do the lab work right away. We’d get feedback very quickly, I think.”

Harry nodded, “Do you think you have enough students to make it work?” he asked.

“Well, we have over forty that we’ve noticed so far. Of those, I think a good dozen would probably be trustworthy subjects for study. Some probably wouldn’t be compliant or would be too suspicious.”

Harry shrugged. “I think it’s a good idea. I think it’s worth a shot, anyway.”

Draco looked at Scorpius, “You are sure you want to sign yourself up as a lab rat?”

“Yes, definitely.” Scorpius answered, “The sooner we figure out what this is, the sooner everyone can be put at ease.”

“What about you, Rose?” Hermione asked her daughter.

“I’m in. Yes.”

“That’s good.” Harry looked around the room, “Jamie, can you talk to Michael about doing the lab work, then? Al and Scorpius, can you talk to Carlos?”

“Yup… Sure thing” the boys responded.

“I think that’s it, then.” Harry finished. “Al, Jamie, do you want to join me at Fortescue’s for some ice cream?”

“How can you possibly eat any more?” Hermione asked, incredulous.

“There’s always room for ice cream, ‘Mione, always.” Harry answered with a smile. “Besides… I have to take my openings when Ginny’s not looking” He smiled at his sons who were gathering their coats to go.

Jamie and Scorpius met in the corner of the room before everyone started going their separate ways.

“I’ll see you later, then?” Jamie asked.

“Yes. I have some errands I wanted to run while my dad is here, but I should be back in a couple of hours. We’re still on for tonight?”

“Absolutely.” Jamie answered Scorpius with a smile and a quick kiss, then turned to Draco, “It was nice seeing you Mr. Malfoy. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day.”

“Yes, thank you James.” Draco replied.

 

\------^^^^-------

 

“So, what did you have in mind?” Draco asked Scorpius once they were out on the street.

“Well, actually…” Scorpius looked at his dad, wondering how to broach the subject, “You know how you bought me that amulet for Christmas?”

“Yes.”

“I was thinking… Since you and Jamie and everyone seem to be so worried about my wellbeing… And, I know Jamie really liked it… I was thinking that I could find something like that for him, and we could charm them so that if something was happening to me he’d know it. Then you’d know that someone was always aware of what was going on.”

“Oh” Draco responded, realizing that his son was proposing sharing his innermost feelings, his emotional state, with Jamie Potter. He knew his son had serious feelings for Jamie, but what he was proposing was a fairly intimate connection, one that required significant trust and comfort. He was glad Scorpius was thinking about his own security, but he was also a bit taken aback that the person he wanted to entrust his security to wasn’t him, his father. Draco was suddenly a bit jealous of Jamie. This was the first time he’d really been faced with the fact that there was going to be someone other than Astoria or himself who’d be a central figure in his son’s life. Of course there was Albus, but that was different… Albus was his best friend. He was something like a brother. This was different.

“Dad?” Scorpius asked, waiting for a response.

“Oh.” Draco said again, coming back to the moment, “Yes. I think that’s a good idea. Why don’t we look around and see what we can find. Also, if we don’t find something… I think there was a similar item that came from the same estate. I could send it up to you. You might want a companion piece?” Draco immediately wondered if that was appropriate, or too much.

“That’d be great, but let’s see what’s here, too. You never know.” Scorpius replied.

“Very well.” Then they started down the Hogsmeade High Street, looking into the shop windows and browsing their way through the village.

“Let’s look down this lane,” Scorpius suggested as they neared a corner, “There are a few shops here I’ve noticed during my morning runs with Professor Williams.”

Draco considered for a moment and determined that now would be as good a time as any to try to summon a little inner courage, “Speaking of Professor Williams...” He began, “there’s something I wanted to talk with you about.”

“Oh?” Scorpius stopped and looked at his dad, wondering what it might be.

“Well…” Draco started and then realized he had absolutely no idea what he might say. He hadn’t rehearsed this at all and probably wouldn’t have brought it up yet if it hadn’t been for the near miss with Albus the night before. “Well….” Now he was stammering a bit and could feel himself starting to pink up.

Scorpius looked at his dad, who had a strange sort of look on his face and seemed to be tripping over his thoughts. For some reason he couldn’t put his finger on he stopped and looked his father straight in the face, “I think you better just say what you need to say.”

“I’ve been seeing Professor Williams a bit…. Socially.”

Scorpius mulled over those words. ‘‘Socially’… did that mean as friends?’ He looked into his dad’s face and saw the blush there and realized that he didn’t mean just as friends. His father was involved with Professor Williams…. Then it really came to him what that meant. His father was involved with Professor Williams. His father… and Professor Williams….

“Oh.” Scorpius said, “Oh….”

“Yes, well…” Draco tried starting again.

“How long has this been going on?” Scorpius asked, now having gotten his bearings.

“Since last term - October.” He answered.

“Is it serious?”

“I do enjoy his company.”

Scorpius started to laugh, “Father, **_I_** enjoy his company, but I’m not dating him. Is it really serious? Are you in love? Are you planning to move in together?”

“Wait. No…” Draco closed his eyes and took a breath, “I don’t know, exactly. This is the first time I have really been involved with anyone since your mother… I have no idea where this will go. All I can tell you is that spending time with him makes me very happy, and that is all I am really ready for right now.”

“Okay.” Scorpius answered.

“I wasn’t sure about telling you, but we are starting to spend more time together… I did not want you to find out some other way.”

“I see.” Scorpius looked at his dad then, and couldn’t resist teasing him a bit, “Well, just let me know if I need to start calling him ‘my other dad,’ or something.”

“Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, you will not poke fun at me.”

“Please, I have so few chances…” Scorpius retorted as he walked ahead down the lane, “You have to give me a little bit here.”

Draco rolled his eyes and sped up to reach his son, “Fine, why don’t we keep looking for something lovely for your boyfriend, then.”

“Are you teasing me?”

“Why would you think that?” Draco smirked back at his son.

As they walked through the lane Scorpius found himself becoming increasingly distracted. He wasn’t seeing anything that seemed right for Jamie and kept thinking of his father and Professor Williams. It wasn’t that he was upset that his father was seeing a man, that part was surprisingly easy for Scorpius to adjust to. No, instead he kept thinking how odd it was that his father was seeing anyone. He had never really considered the fact that his father might date again, might someday fall in love with someone else, that someone other than his mother might live in their home and might become a regular part of their life. He knew he was rushing far ahead of the actual situation, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself. The worst part of it was that all of it only served as more evidence that his mother was gone. His mother, the person who used to be a part of their family, was well and truly gone, and now some other person was potentially going to take her place.

He looked at his father and knew he didn’t want to upset him with these thoughts. His dad deserved to be happy, but knowing that wasn’t making a difference where Scorpius’ thoughts were concerned. He needed to be with someone else right now. He needed to talk to Jamie.

“Dad.” Scorpius broke their silent browsing, “I don’t think I’m going to find what I’m looking for. Do you think you could send me the one you were talking about? The one that came from the same estate as mine? I may as well take a look at it.”

“Of course, Scorpius.” Draco answered, “I’ll have it sent straight away. I will ask the staff look and see if there is anything else that might work, as well.”

“Thank you.”

“Perhaps we could stop for some tea?” Draco asked, noticing that it was only just after one in the afternoon.

“No, that’s okay.” Scorpius replied, “I was actually hoping to squeeze in a little studying this afternoon. I’m sorry to cut this short.”

“No, not at all. This was an unplanned visit. I understand.”

As they walked back to the castle Draco watched Scorpius, wondering how much the news he had shared was on his son’s mind. He knew he must be thinking of it.

When they got to the school, Scorpius gave his dad a hug. “I’m going to leave you here. I’ve got something I needed to ask Jamie about… I’m going to see if I can track him down. I’ll see you soon?”

“Yes, and I’ll send you those items straight away. You should have them Monday or Tuesday at the latest.” Draco reached out and pushed Scorpius’ hair away from his eyes, thinking about how quickly he’d grown over the last two years. He was only a few inches shorter than Draco now and nearly half a foot taller than he’d been when Astoria died. Then he pulled Scorpius into a hug. “I’ll see you soon, then.”

When Scorpius arrived at the door to the Gryffindor tower he knocked, hoping for an answer. The Fat Lady looked down at him.

“What is it that you want, young man?”

“I’m looking for Jamie Potter. Do you know if he’s in?”

“Not at the moment.”

“Do you know where he may have gone?” Scorpius asked, trying to maintain a hold on his emotions, which he could feel were starting to bubble up.

“Do I look like I spend my time tracking the whereabouts of students?” She responded scornfully.

“I see.” Scorpius replied, “Well, thank you for your help.”

He turned, trying to think of where Jamie might be. It was already after half-past one, so Jamie may have gone to the library to try to squeeze some studying in before everyone headed to Hogsmeade in the afternoon. With that in mind he made a beeline for the library, hoping to get there before his emotions got the better of him.

A few minutes later Scorpius made his way through the stacks and found Jamie, curled over his books, studying alongside Michael, Ben and Susan. As soon as he saw him he felt his control starting to shatter. Jamie looked up with a smile and then realized something wasn’t quite right.

“Hey,” Jamie said to his friends, “I think I’m going to wrap things up. I’ll see you later? The Broomsticks?”

Everyone was so absorbed in their own studies they didn’t even look up as Jamie quickly collected his things. They just mumbled some yeses, and Ben signaled something like a thumbs up with the hand that wasn’t wrapped around his quill, furiously writing down notes.

“What’s going on?” Jamie asked as soon as he reached Scorpius. “Are you okay?”

Scorpius had to take a shallow breath to open his throat enough to speak. “Yeah, um… I just needed to talk to you… My dad told me something….”

Jamie could see that whatever it was, it was really bothering Scorpius and was probably something he wanted to discuss in private.

“Come on.” Jamie said as he led Scorpius out of the library.

It was only a couple of minutes before they were walking into the Room of Requirement, and Jamie was sitting Scorpius down on the sofa.

“Okay. Can you tell me now?”

Scorpius nodded. “My dad is seeing Professor Williams.”

Jamie looked at Scorpius, at first not really understanding him. Then his eyes widened a little, “Oh.”

“I…” Scorpius started, but could feel his throat starting to close up with the emotion brewing inside him, and that only served to upset him more, “I… It’s not that I don’t want him to ever see anyone… It’s just that after he told me I just couldn’t stop thinking about it…. about my mother… I didn’t expect my father to never date anyone, but I also just didn’t really ever think about it…. what it would be like…”

Jamie watched Scorpius weave and press his hands together as he struggled to let out the words that he’d been holding in his mind. He reached out and held Scorpius’ hands in his, hoping to lend him support while he continued with what he needed to say.

“I mean… most of the time I don’t really have to think about it because I’m here, and this hasn’t changed… it’s still Hogwarts…it’s still the same, but the idea of my father seeing someone else made me really think about it… She’s gone, and every change that happens is something she’s not going to see. I mean, she never even knew… She never knew about me… and she never got to know you… and now… I mean not today, but someday someone might be living in our house who’s not her…It’s just…” Scorpius couldn’t continue any more. His throat had closed up entirely, and all he could do was sit there, shaking, while tears fell from his eyes. He felt horrible that he was so upset about something that could make his father happy, but he didn’t want to lose his mother, either, and this was just another step further away from the life he shared with her.

Jamie pulled Scorpius in close and held him, softly rubbing his back while he worked to catch his breath.

When Scorpius pulled away Jamie looked at him and brushed a few tears from his red cheeks and puffy eyes. “I’m so sorry Scorp.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“I know, but I’m sorry you’re sad… I’m sorry I can’t do something to make it better for you… I’ve never really known anyone who’s lost their parents like you. I mean, my dad and Teddy… both of them lost their parents when they were so little. They didn’t really have memories of them like you do of your mum. I wish there was something I knew to say…”

“It’s okay.” Scorpius was starting to feel more himself again and his breathing was feeling better, “It’s really good to have you here. Just your hugs are really nice.”

Jamie smiled, “Well, that’s what I’m here for… Well, that and whatever else ‘boyfriending’ is supposed to involve…. Are you feeling a little better, then?”

“I guess, although I’m kind of tired now. Is that weird?”

“No, I don’t think so. If you want, you could lay down…” Jamie looked around. “I could make you some hot chocolate.”

Scorpius perked up a little at that, “Maybe with ghost-mallows in it?”

Jamie laughed and said “Okay… You’re such an adorable dork, you know?” before he pulled him in for a kiss. “Why don’t you go lay down, and I’ll bring it when it’s ready.”

Scorpius walked into the bedroom which had transformed back into the “cozy suite” version of itself complete with fireplace. He snuggled down into the bed and realized just how exhausted he felt. All those emotions were really draining.

“Here you go.” Jamie said, walking in with the mug a couple of minutes later, “I also brought you a few biscuits. I remember you saying you liked these” he said referencing the Ginger-Nuts tucked on the saucer.

“Just the right amount of ghost-mallows, too.” Scorpius noted as he began to slurp down some of the cocoa, leaving a tiny white foam moustache on his upper lip which Jamie suddenly found unbelievably appealing.

“I think you’re going to have to put the hot chocolate down now.” He said looking at Scorpius like he was possibly the most delicious thing he’d ever seen in his life.

“Oh?” Scorpius said, and as soon as he’d set the cup and saucer on the bedside table Jamie had pulled him in to a deep and sustained kiss.

“Just what I thought…” Jamie whispered, “Scorpius-hot chocolate kisses are the best thing ever.”

Scorpius took another gulp of hot chocolate. “Are you sure? Maybe you need to check again.”

 _Yes, I think I’ll definitely need to investigate this further,_ Jamie thought as he leaned in and kissed his boyfriend again.

 

\------^^^^------

 

When Scorpius woke the next morning there was a note from Professor Williams under his door asking him to stop by when he had a chance. He thought about it and decided sooner would be a better time than later, so he stopped by on his way to breakfast.

“Hello.” Scorpius called, knocking on the door.

Professor Williams opened, “Oh, good morning Scorpius. Come in.” Then he showed Scorpius to one of the wing chairs in his office. “Your father told me he spoke with you yesterday.”

“Yes.” Scorpius answered, wondering where this might go. He wasn’t really in the mood for a deep conversation about what his dad and Professor Williams were up to. As far as he was concerned, the less said about it the better.

“Well. I’m sorry that we kept this from you. That’s not normally the way I chose to operate, but it was all kind of unexpected.”

“I understand. To be honest, I’m not exactly sure how it could have turned out differently. My father’s not exactly the most transparent person in the world.”

Professor Williams laughed a little at that, “No. I guess not. Well, I hope this doesn’t negatively effect our relationship. I really enjoy having you as a student, both in class and at the gym… and our morning runs.”

“Me, too.” Scorpius thought about it a bit. “Actually, if anything, I should be a bit peeved at him. If it doesn’t work out with you, he’s potentially inconvenienced me. I hope he wouldn’t expect me to stop working with you.”

“Let’s not worry about that until we get to it. Okay?”

“Sounds good.” Scorpius looked around, wondering if this was the end of their conversation.

“Well, I’d better let you get to breakfast. Will I see you tomorrow morning?”

“Bright and early.” Scorpius smiled. He’d have to remember to dress warmly, the late February cold had settled in and didn’t seem to be shaking.

 

\-------^^^^-------

 

Scorpius’ looked around the quidditch pitch, wondering how he and Gallows were going to adjust to being moved to the regular squad. Both Karl and Tom had been suspended from all extracurricular activities for the remainder of the term which meant that the Slytherin team had to work with alternates to fill both the chaser and beater positions. Scorpius was on the team as an alternate beater, but since he and David were the two best alternates they’d both been moved up and Scorpius had been assigned to chaser. The upshot was that Scorpius was going to have to try to master a new position in addition to adjusting to competitive play. The prospect of that was nerve-wracking enough without the added pressure of having to face Jamie and the Gryffindor team his first time out.

As Susan Flint gave directions Scorpius dutifully followed along, working on techniques and practicing some of the team’s designed plays and formations. He did actually enjoy being a chaser a bit and felt more comfortable in the role since his flying had improved over the year.

When they’d finished their practice Scorpius skipped the showers, wanting to get back to his dorm to see if the package from his father had arrived. His dad did say it might arrive Monday, and today was Monday. So, he high-tailed it back to the Dungeon hoping the package had made it. He was really eager to see what his father and the staff had found.

When he burst into his room, he froze, and so did Albus, as did Phoebe who was kneeling down in front of Albus with his hand in her hair.

“Oh shit.” Scorpius said, still frozen to the spot looking at a completely still and basically naked Albus.

“Scorpius! Bloody Hell!” He thought he saw Albus mouth, who despite looking very agitated was strangely silent. They must have cast a muffilato charm… that would explain this. Scorpius cocked his head looking at them and considering the implications of that.

“ **Get the fuck out!** ” He heard Albus yell. He’d dropped the charm around him and was glaring at Scorpius wondering why he wasn’t leaving instead of standing there contemplating the scene before him like some kind of unexpected potion side effect.

“Oh!” Scorpius blurted as he came to. “I’m so sorry.” He added in a stammer as he reversed course to exit as quickly as possible now that he was moving. He knew he was a little early from practice, but he never expected that Albus and Phoebe would be in the room, nor did he expect that they’d be cutting it so close. Phoebe wasn’t even supposed to be in their room. Girls were not supposed to be in the boys’ dormitories. How’d they manage that? Fuck… well, at least Albus looked like he was enjoying it… for the split second before he realized Scorpius had interrupted them, anyway.

Scorpius looked around the hallway and figured he may as well head to the common room until he could re-enter his own room. It probably wouldn’t be too long. He couldn’t imagine Phoebe would hang around long after that episode. So, he hoisted his bag back over his shoulder and headed back the way he came.

As he sat in the room, trying very hard to focus on his Arithmancy assignment instead of thinking of how he was going to face Phoebe after this, Professor Williams strode in.

“Hi Scorpius.” Williams said before he stopped to look at him in his quidditch robes. “Can I help you with something?”

“Oh, um… no….” Scorpius grasped for something to say that wouldn’t pique Williams’ interest too much. He didn’t want to worsen Albus’ situation.

“Actually,” Scorpius realized he did have something to talk to the Professor about. “I was wondering if you’d received a package for me. I was waiting on something from my father.”

“I did.” He answered. “Hold on, and I’ll get it for you.”

In about a minute Williams was back in the common room with a large envelope. He was just about to hand it over to Scorpius when he paused, “Why didn’t you just come knock on the office door?” He looked at Scorpius a bit intently.

“Oh…” Scorpius grasped again. “Um… I just got distracted. I had an idea about an artihmancy problem and wanted to check it straight away.” He hoped a fib that played off his general dorky-ness would work.

“I see.” Williams said, looking somewhat less than convinced while he handed him the envelope.

Just at that moment, Albus and Phoebe strode by.

“Mr. Potter. Where have you been?” Williams asked as he gave Albus and Phoebe a penetrating once over.

“Oh.” Albus answered, “Well, Phoebe and I were playing some chess out here, and she was complaining about a sore throat. So, I took her to see if I could find a potion in my things.”

Williams looked at the two of them, and then Scorpius with an upticked eyebrow. “I see.” He said. “Well, in future, please remember that we don’t allow guests in the dorm rooms. That’s what the common area is for.”

“Yes sir, I’m sorry.” Albus responded and shepherded Phoebe toward the door.

“I suppose it’s safe for you to return to your room now, Scorpius.” Williams gave Scorpius a look indicating that he knew full well what was going on.

“Hum?” Scorpius mumbled giving Williams his best innocent, ‘I don’t know what you could mean.’ Look before he turned in the direction of his room.

“Slytherins will be the death of me.”Williams mumbled, adding, “Sore throat - _my ass_.”

 

\------^^^^-------

  
When Scorpius got to his room he opened the envelope and slid out the contents. There were actually three pendants for his consideration. One was clearly not right, too large and baroque. The other two were both potentials, but one was a near match to the one he had. He pulled his amulet out of his sundries box and took a look.

Holding them both, he could see how closely they resembled one another. The shape of each was the same – a tear-dropped, liquid, sort-of-figure-eight shape with a opening at the top for a chain or piece of leather. The only apparent difference between the two was a slight variation in the raised areas on the front. Both also carried the same protective bind rune on the back. He made his decision. The companion piece was the one. He’d talk with Jamie about it at dinner and see if he had a charm or spell he could use to link the two together.

When get got back to his room after showering for dinner he caught sight of the two pendants and smiled to himself.

_Who cares about charms and protection, my boyfriend is going to look hot in that._

 

 


	14. On The Way To Somewhere

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group is taking steps to solve the problem at Hogwarts, but it's all taking longer than they'd hope... and Jamie's thinking about the past, present and future... at least as much as he can at the moment.

“Sure, yeah.” Jamie assured himself as he rolled the amulet around in his hand. He really had no idea if he could accomplish what Scorpius was proposing, but it was worth a shot…. And Scorpius looked so hopeful… and there was no chance he wasn’t going to try for that face. Not a chance.

Scorpius handed him the matching pendant, which he had been wearing around his neck, and Jamie bit his lip and began to blush remembering the first time he’d seen it. He felt Scorpius’ hand on his thigh and a whisper in his ear, “I know what you’re thinking of, and I can’t wait to see yours on… So, you better make quick work of it.”

Jamie swung his head around to look at his boyfriend who was giving him his best sultry-flirty look, which to be honest was more adorable than truly steamy, which in and of itself was unbearably appealing. If they hadn’t been in the middle of dinner in the Great Hall Jamie probably would not have been able to restrain himself from tearing every last shred of clothing from Scorpius Malfoy’s body. “Taunting me like this is only going to come back to bite you later.” He whispered back in the blonde’s ear.

“I can only hope.” Scorpius smiled… actually, it was a smile that carried in it more than a trace of a Malfoy smirk. Jamie was definitely going to have to make quick work of this project.

 

\------^^^^------

 

Instead of being curled over his transfiguration, herbology or DADA NEWT studies, Jamie was in the Room of Requirement that night going over pages of inventory and purchasing orders with Aishah.

“This isn’t particularly glamorous, is it?” Jamie noted.

“Nope. Slow slog, but that’s how you find the needle in the haystack.”

“Who knew we ate this much oatmeal? Did you know that? I hadn’t really noticed, but apparently we consume rafts of the stuff.”

Aishah laughed, “I was actually thinking about all the meat. When you see it like this… That’s a lot of animals up there. I may have to consider vegetarianism. I just… It’s a lot.”

Jamie looked at her. “Maybe that can be your next mission. For now, we need to stick to this… one...” then he stopped, looking at the image they’d cast up on the wall from his camera. “Wait… I think…”

“What is it?” she looked over from her viewing station.

“You have the orders from January, right?”

“Yep… Hold on,” She flipped back through the images to the earlier pages. “Got them.”

“Okay. I’ve got the payments here, I think.” Jamie said.

“Great,” Aishah started to read her page, “So, here’s the first one from the start of term, January 13: 15 crates of mixed veg., 5 cases of pumpkin juice, 5 cases of the health bars, 4 cases of apples, 3 crates of bananas, 7 cases of orange juice, 6 cases of black currant/apple, 2 cases of mixed jams and jellies….”

“There we are – the payment’s for 15 cases of mixed veg, 6 cases of pumpkin juice, 7 cases of health bars, 4 cases of apples, 3 bananas, 9 cases of orange juice, 8 cases of black currant/apple and 4 cases of mixed jams...”

Aishah was scribbling away on her parchment, “If you do the math, that’s nearly a thousand extra galleons, Jamie. Merlin’s ass – are they doing this every week? How aren’t they getting caught?”

They scanned through the weekly orders and payments, and found that the overpayments weren’t every week, but overall they averaged a solid 500 galleons per week. The ‘extra items’ were also always prepackaged goods. “I’ve no idea why for that, but it seems silly. You could much more easily conceal overpayments in the fresh goods.” Aishah said.

“How’s that?” Jamie asked.

“I’d think you could pretend the price was fluctuating more. How often does the price of jam change, but apples, oranges, veg, they change week to week. With the amount we order.. it’d be a lot easier to hide that.”

“So, you’re saying they wanted to get caught?” Jamie wondered.

“Maybe the bookkeeper did… or someone” Aishah answered, “That’s weird, don’t you think?”

“Honestly, with the things that’ve been going on, this seems like the most sensible thing that’s happened.” Jamie answered. “Let’s owl my dad, why don’t we?” Then Jamie felt himself being hit in the head with something – a ball of parchment. “What was that for?”

“I think we should at least pause for a moment and give our selves a ‘good work,’ don’t’ you?” Aishah beamed at him. “We’re definitely cracking the door here. You should have your dad look at the shipments of those goods that were ‘over ordered’… and the des Jardins bank accounts… and Tom and Mrs. Brazier’s… and the folks in shipping and ordering over there…”

“Hold on scribbler…” Jamie laughed, “One thing at a time.”

“Don’t you just love this?” Aishah enthused, and Jamie had to admit he did.

 

\------^^^^------

 

“Professor, do you have a moment.” Jamie asked as he walked up to his Charms professor’s desk carrying a small stack of books.

“Sure, Jamie, what can I help you with?”

“Well, I’m looking for a charm that will bind these two objects together so that the wearers can be alerted if one is in trouble.”

Justin Finch-Fletchley looked up from his papers and at at the two pendants Harry Potter’s son held in his hand. He wasn’t surprised Jamie was doing extra work on the side, he was actually one of the most gifted students he’d had in Charms in a while. His approaches to constructing new charms were often quite innovative, although he knew less indulgent teachers might call them unorthodox or ill advised, but those instructors didn’t have students who designed chewing gum based alarm systems. He laughed to think that Jamie might have inherited his ‘innovative’ approaches from his uncles Fred and George, who were definitely not above coming up with a unique charm or two.

“Let’s take a look at them, then?” He held out his hand for Jamie to hand them over. “Oh, I see. Well, they’re clearly designed as a pair, so that should help. And, I see they have the same bind on the back. Have you talked with Professor Ghazali about that?”

“Not yet.” Jamie answered.

“Well, let’s run and see if we can grab him before he heads off to lunch. If he has some ideas about the origin and age of the piece we might be able to better find an appropriate charm or spell. It’s always stronger if you can tie the spell to the point of origin.”

Jamie followed after his professor, who had taken off at a jog toward the divination and languages classrooms. When they rounded the corner to the hallway they saw Professor Ghazali just about to leave his room.

“Hussan, can you take a look at this? It’ll only take a moment.”

The Professor, who instructed in both Divination and Runes and Magical Languages looked at his colleague, and Jamie trailing behind him, smiled, and shook his head. “Alright Justin, but let’s make this quick. I’m actually fairly hungry, and word is it’s Shepherd’s Pie for lunch today.”

The three of them walked back into Ghazali’s classroom which was covered from floor to ceiling with scrolls and parchment examples of different languages and their uses in both divination and spells. Jamie had to admit that for a divination instructor, Ghazali was pretty interesting and definitely a step up from the type of instruction they had when his dad was there, if his stories were actually to be believed.

They clustered around Ghazali’s desk where Finch-Fletchley had deposited the amulets and watched as the other professor picked them up and examined each in turn. “That is a bind rune, yes… but it’s not ancient Norse. It’s a bit more recent, don’t you think? Based on the appearance, the pitting of the sliver and the overall style, it’s likely a couple of hundred years old, maybe a bit older than that. There’s no makers mark, but I’d guess Northern English or Scottish in origin. With the turmoil in the borders around then and the persistence of witch prosecutions, there might have been a need for protective amulet sets like this one. I’ve seen some others like this before.”

Professor Finch-Fletchley nodded along, and Jamie wished Scorpius was there. He would have really loved to hear all of this.

“So, Jamie wanted to try a charm to link these so that each wearer could sense if the other was in trouble.” He started.

“Actually,” Jamie interrupted, “What I really need is for the amulet to let us know if one or the other is in a difficult emotional state…” He wasn’t really that comfortable with sharing all the details, but if they wanted to get the charm right he was going to have to bite the bullet. “Okay, the truth is that Scorpius has been having trouble with panic attacks, and he promised his dad that we’d keep an eye out for him. I figured that if we could link these together I’d know if he was in trouble, even if I couldn’t be around all the time.”

“I see.” Finch-Fletchley looked at the two… “I think we could probably do that. What’d you bring with you?”

“They’re some books I found in the library last night.” Jamie showed the professors what he had.

“I think this one,” Ghazali pointed at one, and then another, “And this one might have what you’re looking for. 17th or 18th Century British/Celtic would be the most likely to match.”

“Why don’t you come back after classes today and we’ll see if we can get something going?” Professor Finch-Fletchley looked at Jamie who grimaced a little.

“I’ve got quidditch practice until 4:30… Will you be available then? Can I bring Scorpius?”

“Sure, meet in my classroom. You’re welcome to come, too, Hussan… if you’re interested.”

“I might do. Right now, I’ve got to see about some lunch with my name on it.” He smiled and led them out of the classroom and in the direction of the Great Hall.

Once they were in the hallway, Jamie broke off to see if he could find Scorpius at lunch. “I’ll see you later, Professor, and thank you both for your help.”

 

\------^^^^-------

 

“Hello, Scorpy-dork, how were classes this morning?” Jamie asked as he sat down to lunch.

“You know, if I didn’t already know you and love you, names like that would really drive me around the bend.”

“You think? I’m pretty sure you love it.”

“Merlin help me, maybe I do…” Scorpius considered, hoping it wasn’t true, but knowing it probably was. “Anyway, to the actual topic of conversation, classes were good. I’m really starting to get a handle on my elemental transfigurations, and was able to successfully change a beaker of mud into lit candle, which was cool. How about you?”

“I found us a lead and some help for our amulets. What are you doing around four-thirty this afternoon?”

“Walking around dirty and sweaty after quidditch practice? How about you?”

“I’m going with you to work on a binding spell for our amulets with Professor Finch-Fletchley.” Jamie said with some pride. I talked to him and Professor Ghazali today about the pendants, and he’s pretty jazzed about it. Got really keen about their origins, etc…. You should have been there, you would have loved it. Anyway, you’ll come, right?”

Jamie was bristling with so much excited energy there was really no way that Scorpius could say no, no matter how much he didn’t relish walking around school without cleaning up after practice. “Of course I will.” Then he looked over at the Gryffindor table at Rose who was looking decidedly peeved. “What’s going on with Rose?”

“She’s miffed that I moved Anwen Cooper-Williams up to full time play on the team since Alex was suspended. We really have to figure out what the problem is with people’s personalities because she’s becoming more and more competitive and authoritarian. She’s really nearing problem level on the pitch. We can hardly have a practice without her insisting someone is doing something wrong and threatening to do it all herself. If she wasn’t so good, I’d have benched her a while ago.” Jamie shook his head. “At least Vi’s hanging in there… what do you think of her?”

“I like her, I guess.” Scorpius considered, “Really, I don’t really know her. Now that Rose’s hanging out with her so much, maybe we should try to make a point of it.”

“Well, maybe movie night on Friday? We could get the team together for dinner or snacks before in the RoR…” Jamie mused, thinking about one of the inter-house activities Albus, Phoebe and Vi had come up with in their bid to keep people from getting too intense. “It was partly her idea. We could celebrate the launch?”

“I think that sounds like fun. I’ll mention it to Rose in Arithmancy this afternoon.”

 

\-------^^^^-------

 

When Jamie and Scorpius finished up their quidditch practices that afternoon, they went straight to the Professor Finch-Fletchley’s classroom.

“Hi boys.” He said as they walked into the room. “I’m glad you could make it Scorpius. Looking over some of the potential spells, I think it will actually be helpful for you to be here.”

“Thanks.” Scorpius answered, “I’m sorry about my attire – Jamie said you wanted to see us straight away, and I didn’t have a chance to shower and change.”

“Oh, that’s alright. I was a student once… Besides, this was the best time. So… You work with what you have. Anyway, you have the items, right Jamie?”

Jamie pulled the pendants out of his bag and laid them on the table.

“Great. You have your books from earlier, right?” He said looking at Jamie.

“Yes, right here” Jamie responded, pulling the books out as well.

“Okay, yes… I thought so.” Professor Finch-Fletchley said looking at them, “I have this one, and took a look through the spells to see what might work… found a couple that looked promising. I also had these two others from the same period, which seemed promising. I’ve marked the pages of interest.”

Scorpius and Jamie each took one of the two he mentioned and flipped them open to the relevant pages.

“So, since this charm is meant to work for the two of you, I think you need to decide what it is that you want the charm to do. This one,” he pointed to the page open in the book Scorpius held, “is designed to convey a state of alarm through a sound only the wearer can hear.”

Jamie and Scorpius looked at each other, “I don’t know about that… I think that’d be potentially annoying. I’m not sure I want that kind of thing…” Scorpius said. “Would you?” He looked at Jamie.

“Well, what are our other options?” Jamie looked at the Professor.

“The one you have open, Jamie, is more of an ongoing monitor. It conveys the wearers emotional state. So, if he’s happy, you’d feel something… If he were upset, you’d feel something different… The downside to that is that it might take a while for you to really get a sense of what the amulet was conveying. You’d have to learn the feelings.” Jamie and Scorpius considered that.

“Then,” the professor went on, “The one here,” He pointed down to his own book, “Changes temperature depending on the relative safety or danger of the other person.”

“But, what if the person just thinks they’re in danger… Does it know?” Jamie asked.

“It works off the wearer’s perception, but it’s definitely focused on danger.”

“Yeah,” Scorpius looked at Jamie, “But the problem is that my anxiety might not really be a reaction to danger.”

“That’s true.” Jamie answered, “Were there any others?”

“None that seemed to fit the bill. There were an amazing number of charms that related to alerting one’s partner about infidelity. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Apparently, that’s a persistent problem.” He laughed. “I assume that’s not an issue here?”

Scorpius blushed and Jamie answered, “No. That’s not a worry. Well, I guess we go with option number two and just try to learn the emotions as quickly as we can. Maybe I’ll plan to have people jump out at you from behind doors, or something.” He looked at Scorpius with a wink.

“You know, when we get these on you may find out how often I’m pretending to laugh at your jokes vs. actually finding them humorous, right?” Scorpius retorted.

“Okay, well.” The professor jumped in to refocus the conversation, “Let’s get started.”

He proceeded to lead the two of them through the spell, and each pulled out their wands and recited the incantation directing the spell to each of the two amulets. As they worked they noticed that the amulets actually started to change in appearance a little. The shape remained the same, but the front of the amulets became engraved with lines, which started to form images. In about fifteen minutes they were done.

“Okay then, well, I think that if the alteration of these two pendants is any indication, something’s happened. What do you make of that?” The professor asked, referring to the engravings on the pendants.

Jamie and Scorpius picked them up and looked more closely.

“Huh…” Scorpius looked at the engraving on his, “I think mine has a wolf and a swan…”

“Mine, too.” Jamie said, holding his out and playing with it a little. “My Patronus is a wolf.”

“You’re kidding.” Scorpius looked at him incredulously. “Mine’s a swan. That has to mean something, right?”

“I’d say so...” Their professor said, “Well, go ahead and start wearing them, and I’ll check with you on Thursday to see how it’s going. If you notice anything odd before then, just ask me and/or take them off. The last thing I want to have to do is explain to your parents is how I’m somehow responsible for changing you both into frogs.”

As soon as they left the classroom Jamie slipped his pendant around his neck and turned to Scorpius. “We may as well put them on… give them a test run,” he said sliding Scorpius’ around his neck, as well. “I do like the look of this on you.” Then he pulled Scorpius into a corner and gave him a full and intense kiss.

Her pulled back and looked at his boyfriend, “Feel anything?”

“Hummm… I’m not sure…” Scorpius answered before he reached out and tangled his fingers in Jamie’s hair, pulling him close and breathing softly in his ear. “Maybe I need to help?” He whispered. “Maybe I need to tell you about all the delicious things I’m going to think about while I’m wearing this so that you can know how hot I think you are. How I think of you first thing in the morning. How I think about sharing a bed with you, and waking you with soft kisses all over your body…” Scorpius continued, teasing Jamie with breathy whispers in his ear.

“Okay… I’m feeling something… I am…”

“Yes, but is it from the pendant?” Scorpius wondered.

“Hard to tell. You’re right here.” Jamie smiled and poked Scorpius gently.

“Okay… well… fun aside, maybe we need to come up with some kind of plan to test it.”

“Why don’t we take notes and compare at the end of the day?” Jamie suggested.

“Okay. Sure, take notes and record the times and see what we come up with. How we were feeling and if we felt anything from the pendants. I guess that could work.”

“I’m glad that meets with your approval.” Jamie said, pulling Scorpius in close again. “In the meantime, about those kisses…” Then he started to demonstrate what he hoped Scorpius meant.

 

\------^^^^-------

 

That night everyone met in the Room of Requirement again to discuss progress and get to work. Nearly a third of the students had been screened with their health checks and Ben, Elizabeth, Rose, Carlos and Scorpius were going through the survey results to see if they could identify foods that suspected “effected students” had in common while Jamie, Michael, Paul and Philippa were working in the lab, processing the blood samples that had come in already.

At the same time Vi, Phoebe and Al were running through lists of suggested muggle movies for Friday’s inaugural movie night. They had decided to kick off the event by asking Slytherin students for suggestions, thinking it might be fun to allow each house to have a rotated turn at providing ideas for the evening’s program.

“Okay…” All looked at the names on the suggestion list they’d pulled from the common room, “Well, I don’t know that much about a lot of these. I know some, because Uncle Ron’s a fan of muggle comedies, but others..”

“I know most of them.” Vi jumped in, “My dad a huge muggle film buff… Let’s see… Oh, some of these are so “Slytherin” I mean… _Atlas Shrugged_?? Ugh, I’m pretty sure no one wants to spend Friday night watching Ayn Rand…” She scanned more on the list, “And some of these are just too frightening, gory or anxiety producing… _Saw_? _The Blair Witch Project_? _Scarface_? _Alien_?… Some classics, but I think we’re looking for comedy, right?”

“Definitely – something fun and light” Phoebe nodded.

“Okay… Well, we have some I think people might like, _Life of Brian_ , _A Fish Called Wanda_ , _Blazing Saddles,_ _Spinal Tap_ , _Hot_ _Fuzz_ ….”

“I don’t know – why don’t you choose?”

“You know what?” She looked at them, “This is all ages, right?” They nodded. “Okay, we’re going with this one, then.”

They all looked at her as she pointed to one title on the list, _Despicable_ _Me_ , “It’s fun. It’s good for everyone. It’s got a happy ending.”

“It’s a cartoon, isn’t it?” Albus moaned.

“So?” Vi looked at him, daring him to contradict her.

“Okay… This better be good.” He looked dubious.

“Trust me, Albus Potter. You’ll like it.” She smiled.

 

\------^^^^-------

 

“This afternoon at about three o’clock, what was that?” Jamie asked as he sat with Scorpius at dinner on Thursday, looking through his notes about the pendant from the afternoon.

“That was irritation. Rose was making a mess of our potions work.” Scorpius answered. “What’d that feel like?”

“It did feel a little like irritation. It was putting out a rhythm that felt kind of impatient” Jamie noted.

“Okay, then about five-thirty. What was that?”

“Oh…” Scorpius answered starting to blush a little, “That was showers after quidditch practice… I was remembering… you…”

Jamie started to laugh and blush a little himself. “Well, now I know. I’ll be on the lookout for that one.”

“What’s that feel like?”

“Heartbeat. It feels good, warm.” He smiled remembering the unexpected sensation that afternoon in the library.

“Okay,” Scorpius said, “What was that around four o’clock, “That felt a bit like a siren.”

“I stubbed my toe changing into my gym clothes. It hurt.”

“You okay?” Scorpius asked, looking concerned.

“Yeah, it just throbbed a little.”

“Okay,” Scorpius said, “well, that kind of covers it for this afternoon… I don’t know. I feel like we’re making a little progress.’

Jamie nodded. “Sure, and I can also feel a little bit of a consistent feel… kind of like a constant fluttering hum to it. How about you?”

Scorpius thought about it. “Yours is a little more of a steady beat. Maybe mine’s higher frequency because of whatever it is that’s bothering me.”

“Maybe. I guess we’ll know eventually. Did you get your diet assignment?”

“Yup, no more black currant jelly.” Scorpius sighed, “That’s my favorite.”

“Obviously, which is probably why it showed up. There were only a few items that cross-referenced enough students lists to make the cut; the jelly, the health bars, the pumpkin juice and the Pixie Puffs. Just be glad you’re not a Pixie Puff junkie. Rosie’s had to give those up, and she was NOT a happy camper.” Jamie rolled his eyes looking over at his cousin. “If her irritation and vocal thoughts on that are any indication, it’s probably not the Pixie Puffs.”

“I just hope we find out soon. The anxiety is really starting to drive me a little mad, and then that just makes me more anxious.” Scorpius started drumming his fingers against the table.

“Is it really getting bad?” Jamie looked at his boyfriend with worry.

“Well, it’s mostly persistent, but there are ebbs and flows. Tuesday morning I got myself kind of worked up and almost didn’t want to leave the bathroom to get ready for class.”

“Wow.. I had no idea.” Jamie reached for Scorpius’ hand. “Why didn’t you say something? Was it something specific?”

“No, that’s the problem… it’s like it’s everything and nothing at the same time. All the things that could go wrong just kind of collide into one big mass of worry…. And what am I supposed to say? Hey, Jamie, I almost got trapped in the bathroom this morning for no apparent reason?”

Jamie all of the sudden reached for his pendant. “Hey, I think I’m feeling something… Is this bothering you?”

“Kind of, or at least it’s making me think about how it feels…”

“I don’t like the way that feels.” Jamie said, “It feels too fast… too much.”

“That’s probably it, then.” Scorpius said with a bit of a frown. “This really needs to get sorted…”

Jamie knew that Scorpius was probably underplaying how much the whole thing was bothering him, but also knew that Scorpius wasn’t going to want to burden anyone any further about it. So, he did the only thing he could, he wrapped his arms around his shoulders and pulled him in for a hug, hoping this would be over soon.

 

\------^^^^------

 

Scorpius slid into a seat next to Jamie just a few minutes before the movie was set to start.

“Everything okay?” Jamie asked.

“Oh, yeah. I just had to run back to the potions lab to check on the culture Rose and I set up earlier. It needs to set for three days, and for some reason I thought I might have forgotten to put the lid on tightly enough.”

Jamie looked at Scorpius and wondered if it was just regular worry, or if Scorpius was worrying needlessly because of whatever the thing was. Jamie looked around, getting angry. Michael had been processing blood and the whole group had been combing through the student survey data and they didn’t feel any closer than they were last week or the week before… They had no idea what to call it. Was it a toxin? A drug? And, if they did figure out out, what if the symptoms didn’t go away. What if Scorpius was stuck feeling like this forever? _Fuck_.

“Hey.” Scorpius looked at Jamie, “What are you thinking?”

“Just wondering when things are going to start to clear up.” Jamie answered, looking back at Scorpius.

Scorpius reached over and laced his fingers with Jamie’s, “It’s going to be okay, you know. I’m sure we’re going to figure it out. Michael’s making progress.”

Jamie gave Scorpius’ hand a squeeze, “I think I’m supposed to be making you feel better, aren’t I?”

“Well, I guess it goes both ways.” He smiled.

“Hey.” Aishah said as she slid into a seat just behind them. “Sorry I missed dinner, was it good?”

“It was, actually,” Scorpius nodded enthusiastically, “Who knew Carlos was that good a cook?”

“I know,” Jamie agreed, “Maybe I picked the wrong guy?” He laughed and Scorpius gave him a poke in the ribs.

“Anyway….” Aishah interjected, “I was wondering if you’d heard anything from your dad?”

“Oh,” Jamie answered, “No, not yet. I’ll send an owl tomorrow morning.” Then he looked up at the front where Albus, Phoebe and Vi were assembling to introduce the movie.

Albus gave Phoebe a little push, and she stepped forward and cast a quick amplification charm before starting, “Good evening, and welcome to Hogwarts’ first monthly ‘Muggle Movie Night,”

Then Albus spoke, “Each month, we’ll rotate among the houses for movie selections. Tonight’s selection was nominated by Slytherin House.”

“Booo! Hisss!” There were some playful taunts and mocks that seemed to be coming most prominently from the area of the room populated by Gryffindor students, and Professor Wiliams stood up, “Easy there, Gryffs – You’ll get your chance next month.” He laughed and then motioned to Albus to continue.

“So, without further comment, I give you, ‘ _Despicable Me_!’”

“Sounds about right,” came a shout that sounded suspiciously like Alan Cooper, a 6th year Ravenclaw.

“Oy!” Vi shouted “It’s good…. So, be quiet and watch!” Then she muttered something in French under her breath which Scorpius could have sworn was something about donkeys and unnatural acts.

Then the lights dimmed and the movie started, and before long the room was filled with laughter.

 

\------^^^^------

 

The next morning Scorpius was settling over his breakfast and making do with “Fruit of the Forest” jam in place of his usual black currant when he noticed a murmur working its way through the Hall. He looked up and realized that Zora was the impetus for the disturbance, having just walked in to take a seat at the faculty table. He elbowed Albus.

“Hey, Zora’s here.”

Albus looked up from his reading, “Oh, yeah. I wondered when she’d get here.” Then he saw her looking in their direction and gave a little wave, and she responded with a smile.

“You know her?” It was Karl Jenkins who’d seen Albus’ wave.

“Oh, yeah. She’s Professor Williams’ daughter.” Albus answered.

“She’s not bad.” Karl leered.

Scorpius laughed, “She’s completely out of your league, Jenkins.”

“Says you.” He challenged.

“She’s at least four years older than you, and …” Scorpius looked over at her, “There’s just no way.”

“Some would have said that about you and Potter.” Karl countered, “I mean the other one.” He added with a sneer when Albus looked up.

“On behalf of both of us, thanks.” Albus retorted with sarcasm.

“Karl, how about dialing it down a little?” Yann interjected, “We don’t need to lose another player from our side, unless you want Slytherin to lose to that other Potter this afternoon.” He added, referring to the Slytherin/Gryffindor match scheduled that day. It was the first official match of the spring season, and Scorpius was growing a bit nervous about it.

Karl grunted and put his attention back to his bacon and eggs.

Scorpius looked down at his mostly eaten breakfast and realized that his stomach was starting to do little loop-de-loops. So, he decided his time would better be spent on something calming like studying.

“Hey Al, I’m going to head off to the library to get a little time in on History of Magic. You going this morning?”

“Actually, I’m going down to see Hagrid, and work with the animals… Saturday…” He added with a smile, reminding Scorpius of his standing weekend routine. “I’ll see you at lunch?”

“Will do. Say ‘hi’ for me.” Scorpius said as he collected his things to go.

 

\------^^^^------

 

At just before three that afternoon Scorpius and the rest of the Slytherin side were collected in the B-Side clubhouse at the pitch and running through some of their panned plays. Scorpius was trying not to get too nervous about the match, but this would be his first time out as a full time member of the team and as a chaser. Two in one. It was a lot.

His anxiety must have been showing because Yann leaned over and whispered, “Don’t sweat it Scorp, you’re gonna be great. You’ve been perfect in practice.”

“Thanks… I’m just… it’s just nerves, I’m sure” He answered.

Over in the A-Side clubhouse, Jamie could feel a little something happening with his amulet. The pace of the “flutter” that it gave out was starting to speed up and grow more intense. He knew Scorp was worried about the match, and he was hoping it wasn’t going to cause a problem. He tried to not get too distracted by it as he walked his team through their strategy for the afternoon.

Suddenly, the fluttering he felt was really much stronger, and he knew something was wrong. He stopped. “I’m sorry.” He said to the team, “Um… Ben, can you walk everyone through the rest? I need to check on something.”

Ben looked at him with a question but could see it was urgent. So, he jumped in while Jamie left the room.

When Jamie got to the B-Side clubhouse he could see the team crowded around Scorpius, who was hunched down in his chair. He walked up and gently nudged David Gallows aside, “What’s going on? Yann?”

“He was doing okay, and then suddenly he was having trouble breathing. Now he can’t seem to speak.” Yann explained.

Jamie knelt down next to Scorpius and took his hand, “Could you give us a little room?” He asked the team. Susan nodded and pulled her squad to the side while Jamie looked at Scorpius.

“Hey.” He whispered in Scorpius’ ear. “You still here?”

Scorpius nodded and looked at Jamie. He was pale and scared.

“Can you breathe?” He asked.

Scorpius nodded and after a few more breaths he spoke, “I’m actually starting to feel a little better…”

Jamie gave him a reassuring smile. “Look. I’m just going to wait here with you for a little bit... You’re going to catch your breath, and you’ll be fine.”

Scorpius nodded again. They stayed like that for a few minutes, breathing and holding on to each other while Scorpius caught his breath. Jamie could feel him starting to settle as the sensation from his amulet began to subside. He rubbed him on the back some, hoping to calm him a little more.

Eventually, Scorpius spoke again, “Thanks Jamie. Thanks for coming over…. I guess it works, huh?”

Jamie looked at him with a little smile, “I guess so… How are you feeling?”

“Better…. Much better. You can probably go now.”

“Will you play?” Jamie asked.

“Yes… I will.. I want to.” Scorpius said, reassuring himself and giving himself a verbal boost. He wasn’t going to let whatever this ‘thing’ was keep him locked up. His team needed him. “I’m good.” He said again as he stood up.

“Okay then. Well, I’ll see you out there.” Jamie said and leaned in to whisper in his ear, “I’d give you a kiss for luck, but I think that’d seem counter to the spirit of competition… I don’t know… I’ll just be thinking about it.” Then he smiled as Scorpius reached his hand up to his amulet sensing what Jamie was thinking of.

 

\------^^^^------

 

Scorpius picked at his dinner, trying to push away the sensation that he was party to blame for Slytherin’s loss that afternoon. Albus looked at his friend and down at Karl Jenkins who he knew had said something as they walked in this evening.

“Look,” Albus said finally, “You and I both know that you did a great job this afternoon. If the team wasn’t up to snuff it wasn’t on you. They were touch and go before the break, and if Tom and Karl hadn’t lost their heads your side wouldn’t have been trying to introduce two new players at the same time.”

“I know…” he said, “I just wanted to win.” Then he shook his head. “I should try to be happy for Jamie, but I’m mostly just irritated. Does that make me a shit boyfriend, you think?”

“Well… I don’t ‘know… but I think Jamie would be kind of disappointed in you if you didn’t care if you won or lost, so…”

Scorpius didn’t have to think about it much more though, because just then Jamie was on his way over.

“Hey,” Jamie said as he sat down, “I’d apologize or something, but the truth is I did want to win”

“I know. I wouldn’t expect less.” Scorpius answered smiling at Jamie.

“You looked good, though. I mean that. With more practice you’re really going to be good.”

Scorpius looked at him trying to determine if he meant that or if he was just humoring him.

“I mean it.” Jamie said. “Anyway, that’s only part of why I’m here. What are you doing later? Still up for some ‘you and me time’?”

“Definitely,” Scorpius answered. The truth was he couldn’t think of anything he’d rather be doing. “Definitely.” He repeated with a smile.

“Good. Meet me in the Room at eight. I’m hoping we’ll have it to ourselves. As far as I know, pretty much everyone else is headed for the Tower Common Room for the post match party or the library...”

 

  
\------^^^^-------

 

Scorpius was so eager for “you and me time” that he got to the Room of Requirement before eight and was waiting on the sofa when Jamie came in.

“Just you and me.” Scorpius said with a smile looking around.

Jamie took a deep breath and settled in next to Scorpius. “Thank Merlin. I don’t know how you’re feeling, but that was a long week.”

“It was.” Scorpius thought in particular about how he’d been feeling more and more on edge all week. Jamie’s warmth was a relief, though. “I’m glad you’re here. I don’t just mean now… I mean always.”

“Me, too…” Jamie looked at Scorpius, letting his eyes drift over Scorp’s hair, eyes, nose and lips and admiring it all. “I hope I’m not being too forward, I know we haven’t really made any conversation yet, but…” Jamie started, but then didn’t have to finish his question because Scorpius wrapped his hands around Jamie's neck and pulled him in for a long, deep kiss.

“Yes.” Scorpius said, “Whatever you’re thinking of right now the answer is yes.” He smiled and returned to kissing Jamie.

As Jamie made his way down Scorpius’ neck, nipping and kissing his soft, cool skin he realized he was going to want more. “I think I want to go in the bedroom. How about you?”

Scorpius wondered if he’d be able to make it off the sofa, but he knew he definitely wanted a lot more than what they’d accomplish where they were. “Yes, definitely… me, too.”

The bedroom had taken its ‘cozy retreat’ state for them, and when they got in the room Scorpius nearly jumped on the bed and pulled Jamie down with him, eagerly grabbing at his shirt and making his way toward the warm flesh underneath.

“Mmm…” I think it’s been too long. “Why don’t we take more advantage of this place?” Scorpius asked.

“Because everyone’s always here!” Jamie laughed. “I had to bribe Albus to stay away tonight.” Jamie answered between kisses before he rolled Scorpius on to his back and began unbuttoning his shirt.

“I adore you, you know.” Jamie added before he began to circle one of Scorpius’ nipples with his tongue while brushing the other with his fingertip.

“I know, but you can say it again.” Scorpius teased.

Jamie came up to look his boyfriend in his silvery blue eyes, “I adore you.” He said again and then kissed him, tracing Scorpius’ lower lip with his tongue and inviting him to open his lips so that he could kiss him more deeply.

Scorpius slid out of his shirt, and reached down to begin to undo Jamie’s belt. Jamie was happy to lend a hand, and before long they’d shed everything and were free to caress and stroke and explore every part of one another.

It was a cool night and Jamie rolled over, grabbed his wand, and whispered an _incendio_ to light the fire in the room’s fireplace. When Jamie rolled back on top of Scorpius, Scorpius savored the combined heat of his boyfriend and the fireplace at the same time. Scorpius pulled Jamie down to kiss him more, and brought his legs up on either side of his waist, wrapping his heels around Jamie’s thighs to bring them closer together.

Jamie started to rock with Scorpius, letting their erections nest and work each other when he pulled back. “I want to please you tonight.” He said.

“That was pleasing me, you know…” Then he perked an eyebrow. “What else did you have in mind?”

“How about this?” Jamie said as he snugged down to begin to take the head of Scorpius’ cock between his lips.

“Mmm…. S’good” Scorpius answered, letting himself melt into Jamie’s lips and tongue.

Jamie looked at Scorpius as he stroked the underside of his prick and tickled the slit with a flick of his tongue. It still amazed him, how beautiful Scorpius was when he was like this, laid out in front of him. His skin shone like ivory, and his lips parted and blushed pink while the tip of his tongue peaked out of his mouth as he concentrated on how his body felt. Jamie filled with desire as he thought about making Scorpius feel good. He wanted to make him feel insanely good, everywhere.

He worked more at pleasing him, wrapping his tongue around Scorp’s cock, taking him in, pulling back and teasing the tip. He took him in more deeply and felt Scorpius flex against him as he dropped his head and brought Scorpius’ cock right to the back of his throat. He tightened his lips around the shaft and pulled back slowly, feeling the velvety flesh pull and pulse against his lips. Scorpius moaned, arched his back and laced his fingers in Jamie's hair.

Jamie reached his hand up and moved his finger behind Scorpius’ balls, working his way in and massaging his hole gently. Scorpius moaned again and pulled his legs further apart, “Yes.” Jamie heard him say.

Jamie sat up “Do you want me to?” He asked.

“Yes… yes…” Scorpius said, looking flushed and definitely interested.

“Ummm… I didn’t…” Jamie said holding his hand out and indicating that he didn’t really have any lubricant.

“Oh.” Scorpius smiled. “I’ll take care of that.” He reached out to Jamie’s hand and whispered a lubrication charm and Jamie's hand became slick.

“Wow… How’d you know?”

“The ‘Guide’…. We Slytherins are planners, you know.” Scorpius giggled a little remembering a few misguided attempts at getting the charm to work.

Jamie bent down to get started again when he felt Scorpius pull a little at his hair.

“Do you hear something?” Scorpius asked.

“I don’t think so.” Jamie said and moved his attention back to Scorpius’ very eager erection.

“Huhhhh….” Scorpius groaned as Jamie moved his finger again, teasing at Scorpius’ hole and beginning to press in gently, almost flirting with the entrance. Scorpius was clearly enjoying it as he wrapped his arms under his knees to expose himself more.

Then Scorpius stopped again “No, I think I do hear someone.”

“Well, you’re the sneaky Slytherin…. Just be quiet… or do your best…” He looked around. “Besides, the door’s moved, see.”

Scorpius looked to see that the door, which had previously opened to the common room, had switched sides and was now on the wall that would open to the lab.

“The room won’t let them in here while we’re like this…” Jamie said as he looked down at Scorpius’ cock and balls and arse just open and waiting to be touched. He wondered if it was possible to want something more than he wanted to make Scorpius explode with pleasure.

Scorpius relaxed back and let Jamie get back to work, sucking and stroking and pressing his finger further into Scorpius.

Jamie pressed in to explore what was inside Scorpius. He felt the tight band of muscle at the entrance and the soft folds within and moved back and forth searching for the spot that would please Scorpius most.

Scorpius was pushing and rocking now, too, alternating between serving his cock and his ass and letting the sensation grow, but he wanted more. “Another” he whispered.

Jamie looked up at him.

“Another finger. More.”

Jamie pulled his index finger nearly all the way out and then edged in his middle finger, then slid them both slowly in. Scorpius responded with another moan. It was tight, but skimmed at the tantalizing edge between discomfort and pleasure. It was delicious, and Scorpius thought about how it would be to have Jamie’s cock driving inside him, but for now he was going to savor this.

Jamie continued probing as he worked Scorpius' cock harder and felt Scorpius arc to try to drive Jamie's fingers further toward his prostate. Jamie reached and pushed and then Scorpius let out a gasp and groan. “Ah…Oh…. Unnnggghh…” Scorpius pushed toward Jamie’s fingers, still wanting more. Jamie began to sink his fingers in further and Scorpius spread out more, wanting Jamie in deeper.

Scorpius could feel how close he was. His balls were tightening and the sensation when Jamie hit the spot inside him was ecstatic. It nearly pulled his breath out of him. He didn’t want to stop and could barely keep himself from screaming out.

“Merlin, Jamie, More… More…” He whispered commands as Jamie matched the pace of his mouth with his fingers.

Scorpius was losing track of where he was. His eyes closed, and everything dissolved into sensation. Jamie’s fingers filled him again and again, and his lips pulled and his tongue stroked and teased and tickled him. It was exquisite. Then he felt himself right at the edge. He was holding his breath and trying to let it build as far as it could go. He was coming right up to the breaking point, and then couldn’t hold back any longer. He flexed his back and felt himself rip out, the orgasm bursting through him like electric joy. Before he could think he was choking out a loud, and unmistakable groan.

“Jamie. Oh, God. Fuck…. Jamie…” He gasped.

Then he heard it. They both did.

“Oh, Shit.” The voices said from the next room. Then laughter. Then “We’re going… We were NEVER here…” the voices said directly to them. Then they could hear purposefully loud movement on the other side of the wall.

“I’m never leaving this room.” Scorpius said turning an intense shade of red. “Was that Rose?”

“I think it was.” Jamie answered. “Well, except at the end, you were mostly quiet. I don’t think they knew until the end.”

“Great… but they know it was us. I yelled your name.” Scorpius grimaced.

“True…” Jamie admitted, “But you sounded like it was good.” He looked at him hopefully.

“So, it’s okay because they’ll think you’re an outstanding lover?” Scorpius was laughing now.

“Well…” Jamie was laughing, too.

“That’s all I need… Word to spread of your sexual prowess. As if you aren’t already the ‘Golden Boy’”

“Actually, ummm.. Speaking of that,” then Jamie got up and pulled something from his jacket pocket.

He turned back with an envelope in his hand which he handed to Scorpius.

“What is this, fan mail?” Scorpius looked at him.

“No, read it.” Jamie answered, and Scorpius opened it and scanned through the contents.

Scorpius read aloud front he letter. “Mr. Potter…. We are pleased to off you a place in the 2022-23 Auror initiate class commencing in July..." He gave Jamie a squeeze, “It’s contingent on your remaining NEWTs, but…. This is great news, Jamie, right?”

“I guess, yeah.” Jamie said a little less than enthusiastically.

“Isn’t this what you want? To be an auror?” Scorpius scanned Jamie’s face, trying to read what was going on there.

“To be honest. I really don’t know…. I always thought that I did, but maybe that’s just because it’s what my dad did, and everyone expects it.”

“You know you don’t have to do it just because people expect it.” Scorpius offered. “Your parents would be happy with anything that made you happy.”

“I know. It’s just. I don’t even know what that is.”

They lay there for a moment, and Scorpius trailed his fingers through the soft hairs that covered the middle of Jamie’s chest. Then he asked, “Do you ever think about the future? About what your life will look like?”

“Not exactly, and when I do, it’s not really me, running around as an auror.”

“What do you think about.”

Jamie closed his eyes, “You’re not going to believe it.”

“I will. Of course I will.” Scorpius said, stroking Jamie’s side with his hand.

Jamie turned his head to look at his Scorpius. “It’s you. I think of you. Sometimes I imagine you, older, bent over books in a study, looking so excited to have found something. Or you telling me about some dig you’re going to go on or something a student said.”

“You imagine me? You and me, and I’m a teacher?” Scorpius said, his eyes starting to fill with emotion. He hadn’t expected this.

“I do… I mean…. It’s not like I’m thinking… Oh, I’m going to make a mess of this….” Jamie paused, trying to find the right words. “It’s not like I’m imagining us getting married tomorrow or anything like that. It’s not that. It’s just that when I do think of the future, I think about you. You’re always in it now.”

“I know exactly what you mean.” Scorpius said. “I think of us, too. I imagine your face in the morning, and you pulling my hand to show me something… things like that.”

“So, what am I doing when you imagine me in the future?”

“I don’t know, but you’re happy.”

“That’s because I’m with you.” He answered.

“Oh, Merlin.” Scorpius rolled his eyes. “Okay, that’s enough of this.”

Then Scorpius rolled himself on top of Jamie and nudged Jamie’s legs apart so that he could nestle between them and they could begin again.

“Now that the room’s empty over there, I’m going to make you scream and not think twice about it.” He announced with a nearly demonic look on his face, or at least as demonic as Scorpius Malfoy could muster.

 

 


	15. A Long Week Leads Back to Hogsmeade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Progress in the investigation is slow, and Scorpius can feel his nerves starting to fray. Even a night out with Jamie offers only a short break... and then Scorpius makes what might turn out to be either a great decision or a bad choice.

Harry sat in bed folding, unfolding and re-reading the letter he’d received that day from his eldest son.

“You know, you can read it eight or nine more times, and I’m fairly sure there’s not going to be anything new in it.” Ginny commented, wondering if her husband was ever going to turn his attention to something a little more lively than parchment.

“Something’s off, though, don’t you think? He got early admission to the next AIC and it took him three days to let us know about it.” Harry looked at Ginny, hoping she’d be able to offer some insight.

“I don’t know, Harry. He’s seventeen. He’s facing a world beyond Hogwarts next year. His boyfriend is experiencing panic attacks. It seems like he’s behaving fairly normally.”

“But he’s wanted to be an auror his whole life.”

“Harry, when did Ron decide he wanted to be an auror?”

“When I told him that’s what I was doing.”

“Right, and how long did he remain an auror?”

“Five years.”

“And would you say that he’s living a happy and successful life?”

Harry thought about it. Ron was running Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes with his brother and had they had grown the business to three locations and were distributing product to at least a dozen vendors. He had a great family. He seemed happy…”Yes, I’d agree with that.”

“So. The moral of the story here is that you don’t always have to know from day one what you want to do with your life.”

“But Jamie’s always wanted this.”

“Okay. Let’s try again. When you talk to classes of first or second year students, how many of them want to be aurors?”

“I guess about half of them put up their hands.”

“Right. Because every kid thinks about being an auror once or twice, and lots of them think that’s what they want to do because they know what it is. I’m fairly certain few of them think ‘I want to become an archivist,’ but clearly some of them will do just that because we do have archivists. People grow and go into all kinds of satisfying careers. Not all of them end up becoming healers or aurors, despite thinking they would in third year.”

“I’m just worried.”

“I know, but you don’t need to worry about Jamie. He’ll be fine, and, in any case, this is something he’s going to have to work out on his own. If you want to worry about something you can do something about, you should worry that the woman who’s in your bed is starting to get very frustrated by the fact that we’re lying here talking about our son when we could be doing something much more interesting.”

Harry’s eyes perked up at that, “Oh?”

“Right. So, put the letter down. You can answer him tomorrow.” She smiled and took the parchment from his hands. “At the moment, Auror Potter, there’s a subject who needs your undivided attention.”

Harry smiled and reached for his wife, “Perhaps a search is in order?”

“Perhaps….” She started to laugh as he noxed the light.

 

\------^^^^^-------

 

When Albus, Scorpius and Carlos made it to Transfiguration on Monday morning they were greeted with a surprise. Teddy had arrived and was just about to be introduced to the class by Professor McGonagall.

“Good morning students. I’m so pleased that you could make it this morning.” She gave the three of them a steely look. No matter how hard they tried the sprint from DADA to Transfig continued to get the better of them.

“I’m very pleased to introduce our guest, Instructor Theodore Lupin.” She continued as Teddy gave a quick nod to the class, and Albus thought he looked a bit uncomfortable. “Instructor Lupin is joining the school this term to take a lead role in Transfiguration instruction while I attend to some pressing administrative matters.”

Murmurs started around the classroom as students tried to make something of the news, and the Professor spoke up. “Please be advised that I’ll expect you to give Instructor Lupin the same attention and respect you would give me. I will be checking with him daily on your progress and expect to hear good things. Do not disappoint me.”

With that, Professor McGonagall left the room and left the class to Teddy who began. “So, I understand you’ve been working on your elemental transfiguration work. Last week you were working on transfiguring earth objects to fire. This week, let’s work on the reverse. Can anyone share the theorem that underlies that process?”

Unsurprisingly, the first hand that shot up belonged to Rose.

 

\------^^^^------  


Tuesday night found everyone back in the Room of Requirement, processing blood, combing through data and otherwise trying to advance their investigation. The students on the “survey” had been interviewed again yesterday and today, and Michael, Vi and Ben were in the lab doing the processing while Rose, Carlos and Scorpius were compiling the week’s survey results.

Harry’s response to Jamie’s letter had been a hearty congratulations followed by an explanation that he couldn’t give Jamie any further insight into what was going on with Hogwarts purchasing until the investigation, his investigation, had progressed further. As a result, Jamie and Aishah were sitting on the sofa, staring into space and trying to decide what they could do next.

“Got an idea.” Jamie announced.

Aishah rolled her head to look at him, “Okay…”

“Let’s go back through the purchase orders and payments. Maybe something will jump out at us.”

“We’ve been through them three times already, Jamie.”

“I know, but maybe something this time.” He couldn’t just sit around, doing nothing while Scorpius got worse. The quidditch match last weekend was just the most significant example, but Jamie could feel the anxiety building in Scorp, little by little, day by day. It was maddening.

“Fine. We’ll do it again.”

They pulled out their cameras and cast the images up on the wall to begin to flip through them again. While they were processing, Albus showed up and flopped in a chair.

“What’s up, Al?” Jamie asked absentmindedly.

“I’m exhausted. Flobberworms seem simple, but the work we’re doing trying to extract their slime is just painstakingly slow…” He stretched and his back audibly cracked with the twist.

“Where’s Phoebe?” Aishah asked.

“She was too tired to come… decided to head back to the dorm and do a little reading before bed….” Scorpius looked around the room from his spot at the table, and wondered if anyone else noticed the tone in Albus’ voice. It didn’t seem like anyone was looking up. There was something there that sounded different from tiredness… it sounded more like resignation. He made a mental note to ask him about it later.

Scorpius looked down at his papers and tabulations and decided he needed to move. So, he got up to wander into the lab and see how things were going over there. When he got in the room he could see reams of parchment tacked on the wall with blood smears which had been spelled to react based on the presence or absence of various magical compounds. Scorpius started walking toward them.

“Oh.” Vi called out. “Be careful, we’ve put up a protective charm to keep them isolated and sterile. If you hit it, it might sting a little.”

“Thanks for the warning.” He stood back and looked at the sheets, looking for his name.

“You want to see yours, I guess?” Michael asked as he walked over.

He motioned to Scorpius from the other end of the wall. “Over here.”

Scorpius went to look and saw two lines of smears on a parchment with his name on it.

“Top row is last week, next row is this week. You can see that your group, the Black Currants, still have elevated levels of the Devil’s Snare derivative, the same one from those pills last fall, plus some presence of Dragon’s Blood. Pixie Puffs, too… The Health Bars and the Pumpkin Juice might be changing, but the results are uneven…Plus it’ll take a day or two for the full spectrum to develop.”

“When do you think you’ll know?” Scorpius asked, wishing the answer was tomorrow.

“Honestly, I’m hoping mid-next week. Once we have three data points and can at least see the impact over two weeks of changes… It should give us a better idea. In just a week all we have is baseline.” He said, pointing at the top row, “And this week…”

Michael wished the process would move faster, too. He knew it was wearing on Scorpius, mostly because it was clearly wearing on Jamie, who was growing more and more irritable and kept slamming their dorm door whenever he entered or exited their room.

Scorpius sighed, nodded, “Well, thanks again… I should let you get back to work, I guess…”and then gave a little stretch before starting back toward the other room to start working through the survey data again.

When Scorpius and Albus got back to their room that night Scorpius noticed that Albus was still in a ‘glum for Albus’ kind of mood.

“Albus. Is something bothering you?”

Albus looked at him, clearly not sure if he wanted to have whatever conversation might be coming next. Then he started anyway, “Well… I’m not sure how things are going with Phoebe.”

“What do you mean?” This was the first Scorpius was hearing of it, and from the looks of things things seemed like they were going more or less okay. It was only a little over a week ago that he’d caught them, here…

“She doesn’t always seem happy to be with me… kind of like she’d rather be somewhere else. Like tonight. I think she didn’t come with me to the Room because of me, not because she didn’t want to help.”

Scorpius sat down on his bed and looked at Albus, who was laying down and staring up at the curtains covering his own bed. “Maybe she’s just tired or stressed. It’s been kind of weird, and we have OWLs coming…”

“Oh.” Albus said quietly, but Scorpius knew more was coming, “Well, maybe I’m not feeling as happy as I used to with her, either.”

“Oh…” Scorpius didn’t really know what to suggest. His entire dating experience amounted to his ridiculous pursuit of Rose up until the middle of 4th year, Carlos, and now Jamie. He didn’t have much to work off. “But you were happy before, right?”

“Yeah, definitely. And some of the stuff still makes me happy.”

Scorpius knew what he meant by that, but felt compelled to say, “But that’s not really a reason to keep dating someone is it?”

“No, I guess I could always go back to wanking myself.” He moaned and Scorpius tossed a pillow at him.

“Please… spare me.” He rolled his eyes, “Maybe you just need a good date. We have a Hogsmeade weekend coming up. Why don’t you plan something?”

“It’s worth a shot.” Albus nodded to himself and repeated, “Yeah, worth a shot.”

 

\------^^^^-------

 

Scorpius was examining his not-coated-with-black currant jelly toast when a familiar warmth slid in beside him and a pair of soft lips brushed the side of his neck.

“Has it moved yet?” The warmth asked.

Scorpius turned to look at Jamie with a squint. “No, not yet. I’m wondering if I can just transfigure it into black currant, and if that would be cheating if I did.”

Jamie laughed.

“Well, I’m a Slytherin. We don’t take very well to not getting what we want.” He took a bite of his not-black currant jelly toast. “So, how’s your day shaping up?”

“Good… actually, I found something yesterday I thought we could check out.”

“What’s that?”

“I noticed that the address for the des Jardins warehouse in Hogsmeade is just down the road from the Hogs Head Annex where we’re seeing the Bowtruckles this weekend.”

“Oh…” Scorpius was looking at him in earnest now, interested.

“Maybe we could check it out before the show?” Jamie offered.

“Sure… What about Aishah?”

“She’s not going to the show, and… Well, I’ll mention it to her, but it might be nothing and we only get two Hogsmeade weekends a month.”

Scorpius nodded, understanding. No reason for Aishah to give up her time to walk around a locked and empty building.

“Great… So, after the match we’ll head over… Oh, one other thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Teddy’s coming to the show, too… and I think he might be bringing Zora… Something about showing her around the village or something.” Jamie smiled.

“Right.” Scorpius laughed. “Well, he needs to move fast or Professor Longbottom might try to snap her up.”

“Please… First, he’s way too old for her, and second, he’s head over heels for Ghazali, haven’t you ever noticed?”

“Really? No… Huh. Just never really paid any attention.”

“Come on! In what world does the Herbology Professor have that many questions that relate to Divination and Ancient Languages?”

“Alright, it is obvious…. Well, he could do worse. Ghazali’s not bad for an older guy.”

Jamie perked up an eyebrow. “Do I need to worry?”

“Not unless he starts writing me runic love poems.” Scorpius poked the back of his hand gently with a fork. “You better step up your game, Potter.”

“Okay then.” Albus broke in loudly, hearing enough of the patter between his friend and his brother. “Don’t we have class to get to?”

“Don’t get grumpy just because you have Potions first off.” Jamie gave his brother a nudge. “But, yeah… I’ve got to run to Muggle Studies… That guest instructor is a real stickler, and I’m a bit afraid of her dad, too.”

 

\-------^^^^-------

 

When Albus got to his potions class that morning he realized why he was probably a little on edge that morning. They were getting back their most recent tests, and, according to the syllabus, they were moving into the portion of the term that would be focused exclusively on revision for their forthcoming OWL exams. Albus rubbed his eyes in anticipation of the months of study that lay ahead. He wasn’t fond of potions, but he hoped to OWL in them because he knew NEWT level Potions would help his chances of getting into the university course he planned to study. So, there was nothing to do other than buckle down and accept it.

As Professor Singh distributed the marked exams back to the students, Albus noticed Ollie starting to get a little edgy and poked Yann, “Hey,” he said, giving a nod in Ollie’s direction, “What do you make of that?”

Yann furrowed his brow, “I dunno’. He looks a little frazzled, right?” Then they looked a little closer.

“Am I seeing things, or is he starting to cry?” Albus asked.

“Oh. I think he’s getting upset alright.”

Ollie’s lab partner, Alex, seemed to be at a loss for what to do. Albus walked over.

“Ollie, are you all right?” He asked softly, not wanting to add to the boy’s distress.

Ollie didn’t respond other than to make muffled whimpering sounds.

“Maybe if we take a little breather?” He suggested, looking to see if he could catch the Professor’s eye.

When Albus reached out to touch Ollie’s back Ollie started shouting, “What the fuck do you care, Potter? You’re set for life and no one expects you to do anything in Potions, anyway! You’ve got nothing to worry about! It matters how I do in this class! “

Albus jumped back and Professor Singh came sprinting over to try to diffuse the situation. Albus tried to explain, “I noticed Ollie was getting upset, and I thought he might need to step out for a moment…”

“It’s okay, Albus. I’ve got it.” She told him. “You can go back to your station now.”

He turned and took another look at Ollie, who was clearly upset and alternating between crying and getting flushed with anger. It wasn’t a pretty sight.

“Why doesn’t everyone open their texts to page 168 and read through the section on side-effects of restorative draughts?” She called out to the class as she examined Ollie.

Albus looked at Yann who was making a shrugging ‘what do I know?’ kind of expression. All Albus could do was shrug back and hope for the best. He tried to remember which test group Ollie was in, but couldn’t recall.

 

\------^^^^-------

 

By Saturday Scorpius would have gone to a flobberworm convention with Jamie if that resulted in a change of scenery. Nearly every day Jamie had checked in with him to make sure he was “okay,” and between the pressing need to dig deep into his Arithromancy, Potions, History of Magic, Runes and Magical Languages, Astronomy, Charms, Potions and DADA, and the endless waiting for some kind of result from the survey, Scorpius really wasn’t sure if his growing anxiety was justified or due to some kind of interference. He was going to try, as hard as possible, to put it aside for the rest of the afternoon. At least he knew Jamie’d be in a good mood because the Gryffindor team had won their match against Hufflepuff 340-210 just an hour ago.

He gave himself a once over in the mirror and decided he looked sufficiently chic-casual for an afternoon of poking around, dinner and a concert. He was just about to walk out of the room when he ran into Albus.

“Hey, can you help me pick something?” Albus asked, shaking out his nest of hair.

“Is it just me, or does your hair hold an unnatural amount of water?” Scorpius laughed.

Albus shrugged, “Maybe I’m part dromedary? It could be useful.”

“Well, make sure you dry off. You don’t want your head to freeze solid, and it’s still pretty cool out there. You won’t be a fun date if you don’t make it to dinner.”

“You still think skating’s a good idea?”

“I think it’s perfect. It’s active but not difficult, and will give you opportunities to talk while not requiring you to talk all the time. Plus, you have dinner after.” Scorpius rattled off as he tossed some clothing options on Albus’ bed.

Albus dug through the choices, making faces at everything until Scorpius handed him a pair of jeans, a shirt and a jumper.

“Wear these with that.” Scorpius said, handing him his pair of brown leather shoes.

Albus gave them another look and nodded. “Thanks for this.”

“Any time.” Scorpius looked at his friend. “It’ll be good, Albus, and if it’s not… at least you’ll know more than you know now.”

Albus nodded again, looking like he was trying to convince himself of something. “Well, you’d better go. Aren’t you supposed to meet Jamie at 5?”

Scorpius jumped, “You’re right… I gotta run!”

 

\------^^^^-------

 

The cool weather drove Jamie and Scorpius into Hogsmeade in good time, and when they got to the village Scorpius was able to convince Jamie to stop by Honeydukes for some of their patented Humming Hot Chocolate. It actually hummed to you as you sipped it, doubling the soothing effect. Scorpius loved it.

“Okay. So, where are we headed?” he asked Jamie as they strolled toward the west end of the village.

“It’s just down the road from the Annex, near the edge of the village. I thought we could check it out and then circle back and have something at that new Indian place that opened nearer the Annex.” Jamie continued as Scorpius nodded and kept sipping at his hot chocolate. He made a mental note of how much Scorpius was enjoying it. “If anyone asks questions we can always say we were just checking out the neighborhood.”

Scorpius perked an eyebrow at that. “I’m not sure anyone would believe we’re flat hunting.”

“No… nothing like that.” Jamie felt a little blush building, “Just curiosity. Three or four shops are set to open up down there and a couple of restaurants… and they keep converting those warehouses to flats and things….” He realized he was probably coming up with more reasons than they needed as Scorpius eyed him suspiciously. He had thought about them in the future before, but flat hunting was just way, way beyond anything he’d seriously considered. The future was coming too fast, much, much too fast.

In another fifteen minutes they were walking down the end of Union Street toward the old warehouse that belonged to des Jardins. When they got there they just stood looking at the building for a moment, neither of them really knowing what they intended to do next.

“Well, I guess we should take a look around.” Jamie offered. So, they walked around the block, scanning the grounds. There wasn’t a lot to see there; a fenced car park with a few vans, a couple of loading bays, some large garbage bins that seemed full. Jamie turned toward a door and gave it a jiggle. He tried an ‘ _alohomora_.’ It must have been charmed because nothing happened. Then he made his way to the next potential entrance, again nothing.

The sun was starting to set and they noticed that there was a bit of a glow coming from around the back of the part of the building with the loading docks. They made their way back around that side of the building and saw that there definitely was an artificial kind of light coming from within the warehouse. The windows were just a bit too high to look through without some added height, so they looked around and found a couple of firm bins to stack so they could peek in. When they looked in the warehouse windows, they saw a large room with long tables which looked like they might have held plantings, but none were there at the moment.

“What do you make of that?” Scorpius asked.

“Not sure… you think they’re growing something in there?” Jamie wondered.

“I’m sure if they were your dad’s people have seen it, right?” Scorpius thought, “I mean, they’ve been around…”

“I’d think so…” He considered, “But how long do you think they’ve known about this?”

“I don’t know…” Scorpius looked at Jamie, hoping it wasn’t long. He wasn’t sure what it would mean if they’d known about this for a long time, but it seemed like it wasn’t particularly good.

“Hey.” Jamie spoke before Scorpius could start a new thought, “Does it look like they might have more of whatever they’re growing in that room back there?”

Scorpius looked at an open door on the opposite side of the room they were looking into. It was possible there was something growing in there. The lighting was similar, and there were some shadows that could be plants, but the view wasn’t good from where they stood. Just then Jamie jumped down.

“Let’s see if we can get a better look.” He grabbed his bin and started around to see if he could find a location that would look into the room in question. As they made their way back around the north side of the building toward the car park with the delivery vans they heard a noise. Jamie froze and motioned to Scorpius to put down the bins. They found a nook behind some discarded boxes and held still. They could hear voices, mostly men but there also seemed to be a woman in the group. It definitely seemed like the group was settled in to conduct some kind of business in the building.

“We should probably go.” Scorpius whispered.

Jamie held for a moment or two longer, straining in an attempt to hear the voices, but they were too muffled to understand or identify. Finally, he gave up and shrugged. “Yeah, I suppose so. Besides, we need to get going if we want to have enough time for dinner before the show.”

They made their way out to the street, pausing a couple of times to look back at the building, but the voices never showed themselves. Eventually, they were far enough away that it wasn’t worth turning to look any longer and Jamie took Scorpius’ hand and brought it to his lips.

“Thanks for indulging me.” He said, looking at his boyfriend in the rapidly dimming light. “I don’t know what I thought we’d find, but it was worth a shot.”

Scorpius looked at Jamie and realized what was driving his interest. It was concern… for him. He gave Jamie’s hand a squeeze, “It was, but you know, it’s going to work out. Michael really is making progress.”

Jamie stopped and wrapped both his arms around Scorpius. “I know…” then he sighed and pulled him in tighter, “Anyway, now we get to enjoy the fun part of the evening, my Valentine’s present.” Then he brushed his lips against Scorpius’ and was pulled in for more when Scorpius wrapped his arms around Jamie’s neck. They were going to enjoy this evening.

 

\------^^^^-------

 

As Jamie and Scorpius were enjoying their dinner, Zora and Teddy were snuggling up to the Hogs Head bar. Zora looked around, unsure if she should touch any of the surfaces but eventually electing to just go with it. It wasn’t any worse than a lot of places she’d hung out in back in the City.

“So, what’s the story behind this place?” She asked, following the routine that had been established that afternoon. Teddy would take her some place and then explain its significance via-a-vis Hogwarts of some of the people she already knew.

“Mmmm… “ Teddy paused, “Well, Harry and his friends did meet here a bit during the run-up to the War… less obvious a meeting place than the Broomsticks” He referred to the pub down the road where they had eaten dinner. “These days, it’s a good place to grab a drink, and sometimes they have music… but the food’s shite. So, try not to make that mistake.”

Zora laughed and looked at Teddy. He wasn’t classically good looking, but there was something about him. His hair was more or less all over the place, but at the same time incredibly appealing. His features were a bit angular, and his frame lanky, but the way he moved was surprisingly smooth. He seemed to flow from one spot to the next. It made her wonder about how he moved in other situations, and that made her feel a little flushed.

“Should we get a drink?” She offered, realizing she’d been staring a little longer than she probably should have.

He smiled slowly, “Yeah.” He turned and ordered them a couple of pints from the guy behind the bar that night.

When the bartender returned, Teddy took a second look at the man, who gave him an intense look in exchange.

“What was that about?” Zora asked.

“He’s morphimagus.” Teddy answered, “Like me.”

“How’d you know?”

“We just know… It’s just something you see.” He shook his head. “Anyway, what were we talking about?”

“You were continuing the oral history of Hogsmeade.” She prompted him.

“Oh…” He looked at her. “Am I boring you with all of this?”

“No.” She smiled. “Actually, you’re really not. It’s… surprisingly interesting… and you’re a good storyteller.”

With that, he pulled his chair a little closer to hers and began again.

 

\------^^^^-------

 

The band was really rolling that night. Scorpius and Jamie had spent most of the first set dancing, which was great, but Scorpius was really getting hot. When the break came and Jamie suggested he get them another round of drinks, Scorpius motioned that he was going to head for the back to see if he could get some fresh air.

As he neared the door he noticed Karl Jenkins ducking out the back with some older guy he didn’t recognize. For some reason, he decided to follow behind and in a moment he was behind the Annex watching Karl walk down the street toward the warehouse end of the road and in opposite direction from Hogwarts. He followed for a moment to be sure of the direction they were going, but held back far enough that he wouldn’t draw suspicion. They were definitely walking in toward the end of the road with the des Jardins warehouse. It was probably a silly suspicion, but there was just something about Karl that rubbed Scorpius the wrong way.

He shook it off and turned back toward the building. Luckily, there was a small crowd around the rear and he was able to get back in to find Jamie.

“Hey, where were you?” Jamie asked.

“Went outside to get some air.” Scorpius shouted over the sound of the band who’d started up again, “Saw Jenkins.”

“Karl? He give you trouble?”

“No. I actually saw him leaving with some older guy. Someone I didn’t recognize.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. They left and walked down toward the warehouses.”

“Really?”

Scorpius nodded and perked up his brows, silently saying ‘so, there’s that.’

When they finished their drinks Jamie pulled Scorpius back on to the floor, and he was reminded of the Yule Ball. Setting aside how horribly that evening had ended, he smiled at the memory of Scorp dancing. It had been the first time he’d seen him dance, and he’d been completely bewitched by the way Scorpius seemed to abandon any thought of other people while he was at it. It seemed so incongruous… but, on second thought… Then Jamie found himself blushing heavily realizing he was imagining his boyfriend in the throes of an orgasm.

Propelled by that thought, Jamie moved closer to Scorpius and wrapped an arm around his waist. Scorpius smiled at Jamie with a goofy, joy-filled smile, and Jamie bent his head and pulled Scorpius closer so that he could bite on his neck. He was warm and he tasted salty with sweat. Jamie trailed his tongue from Scorpius collarbone up to his earlobe and could feel the vibration from Scorpius’ humming moan in response. He nibbled on Scorpius’ earlobe and whispered “Thank you.”

While Jamie continued to toy with Scorpius’ ear, Scorpius trailed his hand up Jamie’s arm until he reached his shoulder, then turned and drew Jamie’s face close to his own. He held him there for just a moment before he pulled him close and kissed him, not caring how many people were crowded around. They were surrounded by bodies, but it felt like it was just the two of them in a sea of movement. Scorpius opened his lips and let his tongue tease Jamie’s open, too. He tasted Jamie-sweet with the tang of the beer they’d been drinking. Scorpius wasn’t sure how long they’d been going on like that when he felt a bump.

“Easy there.” A voice called to them. Scorpius turned, and it was Teddy who had a big smile on his face. “I don’t want to have to tell your parents you’ve been behaving inappropriately in public.”

Jamie rolled his eyes and gave Teddy a hug. “You been here long?” He asked.

“Yeah. We were upstairs on the balcony for the first set. We saw you dancing, and thought we’d come down to say hi.”

“You have a good afternoon?” Jamie asked, looking at both Teddy and Zora, who both nodded in response.

Suddenly the crowd threw up a cheer and Scorpius turned to the stage to see the band’s lead singer come out in a wedding gown. It was one of their routines, a cover of some classic muggle song, “White Wedding.” It always got a good roar going as everyone sang along.

As the music built to a peak the lead singer turned and tossed a bouquet out toward the audience. Scorpius watched the floral bomb arc up and through the lights, fluttering toward their general direction. As it hit its peak and began to descend he realized it was actually coming right at them. In a second it was zeroing in on Jamie whose face was blooming into a combination of terror and mortification as he realized he was about to be pinned with the milky white missile. He flapped at it in the manner of a deranged chicken, bouncing it back up into the air where it careened off Zora’s head and landed in a pair of hands belonging to Teddy, whose hair promptly turned white.

Scorpius laughed harder than he’d ever laughed in his life.

 

\------^^^^------

 

By the time Wednesday afternoon rolled around all the fun of the weekend had worn off. Scorpius had endured two more borderline anxiety attacks; been on the receiving end of at least five concerned looks/conversations with Jamie; listened to Albus’ recap of the not terribly successful date at least three times; and was counting down the hours until Michael had some kind of handle on what might be happening and if any of the foods they were looking at were the cause. He stretched and looked over at Rose who was flipping through their potions text, working on the adaptation they were supposed to be developing for a common sleeping draught.

“I know you’re having a hard time, Scorpius, but you could at least try.” She admonished him with a half angry, half consoling tone. The whole thing was taking a toll on her, too, and she could feel her edginess and intensity was starting to drive people away from her.

“I know. I’m really sorry…. I just think I need a run or something. Some kind of a break. Do you mind if we pick this up later?” He looked at her, hoping she wouldn’t give him too hard a time, “Maybe we can meet up after dinner?”

She sighed. “Sure. Okay. I’ve got Arithromancy to get to, which you should be studying, too.”

“I know. I’ve got your schedule.” Scorpius tried to crack a smile through the weight of it all.

He gathered his books up and headed toward the Dungeon, planning to change into something warmer and maybe take a quick run down by the lake or the edge of the forrest. Now that the sun was out longer he felt fine running there by himself in the late afternoon. When it was the dark of deep winter the edge of the forest made him feel a little edgy.

As soon as he’d laced up and donned his jacket and gloves he headed out to the grounds. The repetitive pounding of his feet on the soft earth felt good, and he started to feel at least some of the stress shake off.

He was nearing the edge of the forest when he thought he saw something. He slowed his pace and held back, looking just into the edge of the forest. Yes, there was definitely something moving in there. He continued and got a little closer. It was Karl Jenkins, and he was making his way toward the old tree they called the Whomping Willow. Scorpius had actually never seen it in action and he wasn’t sure if anyone their age had, but the stories were terrifying enough to keep nearly all the students away.

Karl was walking up to it now with something in his hand. Then he threw it, maybe it was a stone, at the tree and started running at the tree’s trunk. Scorpius realized Karl’d been creating a distraction because as the stone neared the tree the tree moved to catch it or fend it off giving Karl a window to dive into an opening at the tree’s base. In a second he was gone.

Before he really thought about it Scorpius decided he was going to follow. Whatever it was that Karl was up to, Scorpius felt he needed to know. He needed to get whatever this was to end, and if Karl was the key… well, he was done waiting. He was done feeling like crap every day and he was done having to explain to his boyfriend over and over again that he was going to be okay because the truth was that at this point he had no idea if he really was going to be okay or not. It all just needed to be fucking over.

He looked around for a stone or something and didn’t see anything particularly easy to lift and throw. He was going to have to try his wandless magic. He saw an old log a few yards away and reached out his hand, working to summon a _depulso_ spell. He incanted the spell as he flicked his hand up toward the branches of the old tree that were still twisting and writhing in irritation. The log flew up and into the tree’s canopy, and the branches all reached up to grasp at the intrusion. Scorpius made a dash for the opening in the trunk.

He landed with a thud in a pile of dirt at the bottom of a small chute that extended from the trunk’s opening. There was a narrow tunnel ahead. Clearly, there was only one way Karl could have gone, so Scorpius made his way down the tunnel. After a few twists and turns he found himself faced with an old wooden ladder. He climbed it and found his head poking out into a dilapidated looking room. He listened, and as far as he could tell if there had been anyone there they’d gone. The room, the whole building, was silent… or at least silent of any human sound.

When he got up into the room he looked out the window and realized he’d come out in the Shrieking Shack, that old, haunted house on the eastern edge of Hogsmeade. The tunnel must have been charmed because the passage from the Willow to the Shack only took him five or ten minutes, but he’d surely covered at least two miles.

At this point he realized he had no idea where to go next. Karl had left the property, and it wasn’t clear where he’d gone. Scorpius looked back at the trap door in the floor and considered heading back to Hogwarts, but he’d already come this far… So, he decided that the most likely scenario was Hogsmeade, and potentially the warehouse district. He’d head in that direction.

 


	16. Everything Blows Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things come to a head in Hogsmeade after Scorpius goes missing.

Scorpius broke into a light jog in the hope that he would catch up to Karl and learn something to justify this questionable decision. A thousand reasons for why this pursuit was not a good idea flowed through his head, but just one feeling drove him forward. He needed to finish this up. If Jenkins was involved with this… if he was the cause of whatever this was… Scorpius didn’t really know what he’d do, but he felt an anger building inside him that outweighed any questions he had about his current situation.

When he got into Hogsmeade he crossed over the high street and headed toward Union, having a feeling about where Karl might be going. It was about five more minutes, just before he reached the Annex, when he finally caught sight of Karl, who’d been joined by his older brother, Kris, and a man Scorpius didn’t recognize. He slowed down to follow them, taking care to remain in the shadows which were lengthening quickly as the sun began to set. Scorpius began to silently grumble that he might find himself without dinner that evening.

Eventually, the trio in question entered the loading dock area of the des Jardins warehouse. Scorpius quickly followed them and was able to catch the door before it closed and locked him out. He stepped into the building slowly and found himself in a large interior loading area. A door diagonally across the room popped closed, and Scorpius assumed Karl, Kris and the man had gone in that direction.

Thankful he was wearing his muggle trainers, he quietly transversed the loading area and peered through a window in the door. On the other side was a long hallway which looked to be lined on both sides with two or three offices. The only light he saw was coming from a room at the end of the hall.

For a moment he considered not going into the hallway. All the office doors looked like they were closed, and if he was caught out there was nowhere to hide. In the end he decided to go down the hallway and try for the office next to the one with the light on – the one Karl and Kris were probably in. If he could get in that room he might be able to hear what was happening in the room next door. If not, he’d leave. So, that was it. He was going down the hall.

Amazingly, the door to the room was actually open. Scorpius slipped inside to see if he could hear what was being said in the room adjacent. He realized the rooms had a dropped ceiling which allowed a pretty significant amount of sound to carry from one to the other. As a result, he could actually hear what was being said pretty clearly.

“I know, but….” Karl was apologizing for something. “They know… or I think they’re about to know. Apparently, a group of students have been doing some kind of testing to see what’s going on.”

“What do you mean?” A woman’s voice asked.

“Just what I said. Some students – Jamie and Albus Potter, Michael Creevey and some others – got it in their heads that the food might be tainted, so they started investigating.” Karl explained.

“That’s not the worst of it…. tell her…” That was Kris now, prompting his brother.

“They’re also investigating you.”

There was a pause.

“Not you personally, but des Jardins.” Karl started.

“They know that the new stuff is coming from here.” Kris jumped in, “They know there’s some kind of payoff scheme.”

“Potter knows.” A man’s voice concluded “Which means the aurors could know.”

“Do I look like an idiot?” The woman’s voice said. “We knew this would happen. That’s why…” She stopped, seeming to reconsider what she was going to say next, but picked up again “….. you don’t need to worry about it. I’ve got it covered.” She was trying to sound authoritative, but Scorpius could swear she was also holding something back. There was something she wasn’t sharing with Karl and Kris.

“No. Wait a minute…” That was Kris… “That’s not all there is, is there?” He sounded suspicious and angry. “We set up this situation for you, and now… What is going on?”

Scorpius was trying to figure out who was playing which roles in this little set-up when he heard the office door handle turning. Merlin’s balls, the closet door was all the way across the room. From where he was standing the only options were to try to hide behind a bookshelf and coat rack or dive behind the desk, and if the person went for the desk…. He chose to wedge himself behind the bookshelf and the coat rack, and hoped for the best.

 

\------^^^^------

 

Jamie was trying very hard to focus on _Chapter 7, Advances in Transfigurative Theory, 3rd Edition_ , but the thrumming of the amulet was distracting. All week it had been ‘going off’ in one way or another as the effects of whatever this was continued to push Scorpius into higher states of anxious stress. He stretched his head to one side and another to try to flush out some of his own anxiety when he noticed Michael making a beeline for him.

“I’m so glad I caught you here.” Michael bloomed with excitement, “I think we’ve found it.”

Jamie’s eyebrows shot up. “It – it? As in we can get Rose and Scorp back to normal “it”?”  
Michael was nodding his head furiously, “Yep. It’s definitely the pumpkin juice. Rose can go back to her steady diet of Pixie Puffs starting as soon as she likes…. So, where is Scorpius?”

“When I checked in with Rose, she said he’d gone out for a run…. I think he might still be at it.” Jamie grabbed his things and tossed them in his bag. “Let’s see if we can find him.”

“You go.” Michael said. “I’m going to go find Rose and then talk with McGonagall.”

Jamie sighed a deep sigh, “This is great news, Michael… Really great.”

Michael nodded and shoved his hands into his pockets, making a humble kind of shrug. “Well…. I’ll see you at dinner then.”

“See you then.” Jamie nearly skipped out of the library in his excitement to go find Scorpius and share the news.

 

\------^^^^------

 

Scorpius watched the door open and the dark haired man enter the room. Scorpius gave himself a little congratulations as the man went straight to the desk to hunt for something in the top drawer… a set of keys…, but his moment of triumph was short lived as the man tuned to go and stopped. Scorpius could feel his heart beating like mad as he hoped like hell he hadn’t been seen, but had a sinking feeling he had.

The man walked toward the coat rack and reached for a coat. He casually took one off the hook and draped it over his arm, then looked straight at Scorpius. Scorpius cringed. _Fuck_ …

“Well…” The man sighed. “You don’t look like a coat… or are you playing the part of a potted plant?”

Scorpius wondered if this attempt at humor was meant to be intimidating or if he was trying to put him at ease. Whatever the intention, he felt a little bit like Hansel or Gretel being cooed at by a salivating witch moments before being shoved into an oven. It was not a good feeling, and Scorpius could feel his anxiety building.

“I think you’re going to have to come with me.” He motioned to Scorpius.

At the moment, there was nothing Scorp could do but comply. So, he stepped out from behind the coat rack and walked ahead of the man, who directed him into the office next door.

As Scorpius entered the room, the woman, who Scorpius could now see was older but not elderly, took one look at him and then looked at Karl and Kris and sneered. “Just in case you needed a reminder of why you were not to come here, we have proof.”

She turned to address Scorpius, “I presume you followed one of these two?”

Scorpius nodded and when he tried to raise his hand to gesture in Karl’s direction he realized he’d been bound by some kind of charm. It was a brachiabindo, or something like it, and it was keeping his arms restricted to his sides. He looked at the man who gave him a gentle, but far from reassuring, smile.

Karl glowered at Scorpius while the woman drummed her fingers on the desk. “So,” she gave him a once over look. “You’re Scorpius Malfoy?” The woman asked.

“Yes.” Scorpius answered. She didn’t really have to know much to guess that. His coloring and overall appearance made him the unmistakable son of Draco Malfoy, and quite a few people knew who that was.

There was a long silence as the woman continued to gently drum her fingers on the desk. The Jenkins looked decidedly put out and uncomfortable. The woman intimidated them, potentially even frightened them, which raised Scorpius’ concern quite a bit. To counter his growing discomfort he decided to try to gather information, at least as much as he could.

He looked around the room to take an inventory of the scene. The woman, who was likely near sixty, sat behind a common work desk. The room itself didn’t seem to house any unusual objects. Filing cabinets, ledgers, a computer work station, a phone…. Then it dawned on Scorpius. This operation involved muggles. Witches and wizards didn’t normally use this kind of tech unless they were collaborating with muggles… So, either the woman was working with muggles, or… perhaps she was a muggle? If that was the case, why were the Jenkins afraid of her? No, she had to be a witch. Plus, there’s no way that even the Jenkins would have brought a muggle into Hogsmeade, or that she would have been able to work here without being caught. So, she had to be a witch.

Scorpius looked at the woman and man again. He couldn’t place her at all. The man, however… He seemed a little familiar. Then he realized why… He was a Goyle, definitely. He had the look of a member of the Goyle family. Scorpius wasn’t aware of Tom having an older brother, but there were cousins. So, in the room he had three people from pure-blood or pure-blood/radical sympathizing families and an undetermined woman. All of them sitting in a room kitted out with muggle work technology.

Scorpius didn’t have a chance to evaluate the scene further because at that point the woman had decided what was to be done with him, “Take him to the secondary storage area…” She started instructing the man, “and secure him there somehow. He might have some use.” As they walked out of the room, she growled a last order, “… and for Merlin’s sake make sure he hasn’t got a wand with him.”

With that, the unnamed Goyle ushered Scorpius out of the room and through a couple of doors to a room adjacent to the one he and Jamie had been peering into the weekend before. He could see into that other room, and just as in the room he’d entered, the blinds on the windows were drawn now. So, it wasn’t likely that anyone could really see inside either room… Certainly, they wouldn’t see him or what was going on near him unless they had a good idea what they were looking for and where to look. The room was filled with large shelving units along one side and some barrels and bins at one end. Tables like the ones he and Jamie had seen before were pushed and stacked against the other end of the room, partially obscuring a set of windows that seemed to look into some kind of administrative area.

The man grabbed a chair, sat it in the middle of the room and shoved Scorpius down onto it. He checked him for a wand, which he didn’t have with him in any case, quickly bound him and used a sticking charm to immobilize the chair. Scorpius was well and truly trapped, at least for the immediate future.

Scorpius watched the man give him a once over, assuring himself that Scorpius was taken care of before he turned to go. Before he left he gave Scorpius a warning, “Don’t be a fucking idiot. Just stay where you are.” Then he noxed the light and left.

Scorpius didn’t want to panic, but he could feel his emotions starting to get the better of him.

 

\------^^^^-------

 

Jamie was walking down toward the wood when he felt the amulet start to pulse harder. The light was dimming, and it was getting harder to see where Scorp might be. He stopped and looked around. There was no sign of Scorpius, and he really should have been back at the Castle by now… Something just wasn’t right. He couldn’t put his finger on it exactly, but there was something off. He needed to find Albus. There was a good chance that where Albus was, Scorp would be, too.

But, when he got to the dorms, and Albus and Scorpius weren’t there. He kicked himself realizing that they were probably already in the Great Hall for dinner. At least that’s what he told himself to try to keep his worry in check. They were probably at dinner.

He made a beeline for the Great Hall, and in just a couple of minutes he was jogging into the room. That’s when he realized he was probably starting to look a little panicked. The faces turning to look at him definitely seemed to be registering alarm at his appearance. He looked around, and didn’t see them. Finally he caught sight of Albus and Carlos at the Slytherin table.

“Al, have you seen Scorp?” Jamie asked, realizing he felt a little out of breath.

Albus looked around, starting to absorb some of Jamie’s worry, “No… I assumed he was with you… or Rose.” They looked over at the Gryffindor table and saw Rose sitting down with Phoebe and Aishah for dinner.

Carlos was looking at the two of them. “I think we need to go find him…”

The brothers looked at each other and nodded, then Jamie rubbed his forehead, “But I have no idea where he could be… None…” He looked around the room trying to find something that might jog an idea loose. Then he saw Dan O’Connor. It seemed like a long shot, but anything was better than nothing.

He strode up to Dan and grabbed him by the elbow, “Dan, I need to have a word,” he hissed as he dragged him over to the side of the Hall. “When you were gone at the end of last term… where were you?”

“Why on Earth are you asking about that now?” O’Connor choked.

“That’s not really important… So, where were you?” Jamie was holding Dan tight and awkwardly and Dan was struggling a bit to get him to release.

“I already told your dad and his people, I have no idea.” He kept pulling his arm, “Jamie, can you please... that hurts.” He was whimpering a little.

Jamie relaxed his hold a bit, “I’m sorry, Dan… I’m…” Jamie was starting to get soft but then shifted again to a harder voice, “We need to know because Scorpius has gone missing.”

“Oh,” Dan considered, “Look, I really don’t know… I hardly remember anything… just blue-ish lighting and a smooth, cold floor… That’s all… Like I told your dad.”

Jamie looked at him now, this was news to him, actually, because his Dad had said that Dan didn’t remember anything… Not even with the pensive… Had his Dad been lying, and if so, why? He’d have to think about that later, because right now the issue was finding Scorpius.

That’s when Dan’s words broke through… The warehouse. That might match the description… It was probably the only thing they had to go on. He turned to Albus and Carlos.

“We need to tell Williams and get moving. I think I know where he could be.”

 

\------^^^^------

 

Scorpius took some deep breaths and tried to modulate his breathing. Although he’d been cursing himself earlier that he’d left his wand back in his room, by this point it wouldn’t have made any difference. He’d just have to summon a little wandless magic to see if he could get some light going in the room.

His arms were bound somewhat behind him, so he couldn’t really use his hand and fingers to direct the magic. He’d have to try to focus on some kind of a spot to see if he could build something. It was the only thing he could think of. He stared straight ahead and tried to imagine a point about three feet in front of his face that was illuminated. He really concentrated on it, whispering _lumos_ to himself as he willed the pulse of light into being. Eventually, it actually worked. He was able to get a small amount of light going and then direct it around the room like a small lighted bubble so that he could get a better look at things.

Of course, everything looked exactly as it did before the lights were off. The admin room, the shaded windows, the tables and shelves. He did notice that the limited amount of light coming through the slats of the window shades had really trailed off. It must be past seven now. Of course his stomach could have told him that, as well. Everyone would be eating dinner right about now, in which case they all might have noticed he was missing.

As he started to think about Jamie and Albus and everyone else noticing his absence, he became even more anxious. He needed to keep a handle on his emotions if he was going to get out of this place. He had no idea how dangerous these people were, but that woman seemed to scare the Jenkins pretty thoroughly. He needed a plan of some kind. If Jamie were here, he’d have come up with a plan.

 

\------^^^^------

 

“I’m fire-calling your father, then we’ll decide what to do.” Professor Williams explained… for the second time.

“No. First, Albus, Carlos and I are flooing into Hogsmeade, and then you can fire-call my dad. You know he’s going to say we can’t go, and he’s the one who agreed we were part of this. Plus, every minute we stand here and argue about it something could be happening to Scorpius.” Jamie countered, looking at Williams with a decidedly steely gaze. He was damned if they were going to make him sit around while something might be happening to Scorpius. That was just not happening. Not a chance.

Williams looked Jamie and the other two students up and down and realized he didn’t have much of an argument. It was absolutely nuts, but Jamie was right. They’d brought these kids into this, and arguing about it wasn’t helping them improve the current situation.

“Fine.” Williams said while opening a desk drawer and starting to search for something, “But if you’re doing this you’re taking this.” He tossed Jamie a box that had an earpiece and an old looking Sickle inside it. “You can talk to me with that… I’ve got the companion” He held up another set. “And, for Merlin’s sake do NOT lose that sickle.”

As the boys flooed into Hogsmeade through the Three Broomsticks hearth, Lin Williams muttered to himself, “This is by far the most poorly conceived operation I’ve ever been a part of.” and set himself to call Harry Potter, parent and Head Auror, with the news that a Hogwarts student – Draco’s son – might be in trouble, and that his two sons and Blaise Zabini’s son had gone into Hogsmeade to go after him at the des Jardin’s warehouse.

_How had he agreed to this?_

 

\------^^^^------

 

Scorpius sat in the dark trying in vain to summon up his Patronus, but it just wasn’t working. The combination of his acute level of anxiety and the fact that he hadn’t ever practiced the _patronus_ charm without a wand was doing him no favors. The best he’d managed so far was a silvery wisp.

Time was passing, and he wasn’t sure how much longer he had before the woman decided what to do with him next. He’d have to try something other than the patronus. What could he do wandlessly? He could to a decent _accio_ , a _wingardium_ , a _descendo_ , the _lumos_ and _nox_ , an _engorgio_ and _reducio_ , and he could manifest lubricant. Fat lot of good that last one was going to do him now... Not that it hadn’t been worth learning. It definitely had.

Okay. Enough of that. He course corrected and thought some more. The _accio_ could be useful if they came in the room and he could summon something large like the stack of tables. However, that would probably only work for a moment, and would most likely piss them off. Then he’d be sunk. Same thing more or less held with the _wingardium_.

 _Come on Malfoy_ , he pushed himself, _think of your DADA instruction_. He needed some kind of strategy. By now, enough time had elapsed that people were bound to be looking for him. Maybe he could use the _lumos_ to alert people to his presence. If he could get them going outside the room, on the outside of the warehouse… float them up in the air so they could be seen….

It was worth a shot, so he started to concentrate on creating three small orbs of light.

 

\------^^^^-------

 

When Jamie was about three blocks away from the warehouse, he tried out the earpiece.

“Professor Williams, it’s Jamie, can you hear me.”

“I’ve got you.” He heard the professor… it was working. Jamie looked at Albus and Carlos and nodded, to let them know, too.

The Professor continued, “I reached your dad. He’s got a team of four aurors within fifteen minutes of the warehouse. They should be there very soon.”

As Jamie, Albus and Carlos walked down the street toward the warehouse Carlos stopped, looking at Albus, “I think he might actually be near.” He said with a little surprise.

“How’s that?” Albus asked.

“You’re getting brighter… More like you look when you’re with him.” Carlos looked Albus up and down. “It could be..”

Jamie looked at Albus and Carlos, “Let’s move closer and see what happens.”

When they were about a block away, Jamie noticed something “Hey, look up there.” He pointed up at a light hovering above the other side of the building. “Is that…?” He didn’t finish the sentence because he just started quietly running around the side of the building. Carlos and Albus had no choice but to trail behind.

When they reached the corner on the north side of the building, the three lumos lights Scorpius had managed to manifest were hanging in the air. One was high, the one that Jamie had seen, and two hovering lower down, near the windows Jamie and Scorpius had peered into the weekend before.

“Hey,” Jamie spoke into the Sickle, “I think we might have found him…. It looks like he’s charmed some lighted signals for us.”

Jamie heard Professor Williams sigh on the other end, “Okay, just hang back. It should only be about ten minutes before your dad’s people are there.”

Jamie nodded then spoke “Okay. We’re here. But.. I’m going to see if we can get a look. Just to make sure he’s okay.”

“Be careful, Jamie. You don’t know what’s happening there. Just… You don’t want to make anything worse. Just don’t be seen.”

“Got it. We’ll be careful.”

Jamie looked at the side of the building. They were probably about half a block away from the window bank and on the opposite side of the street. They’d found a good spot in the shadows behind some bins that gave them a good view of what was happening down both the north and west side of the building.

“We need to try to see if we can spot Scorp.” Jamie said starting to move toward the building.

“Wait.” Albus stopped him. “Didn’t you just promise Professor Williams you’d be careful?”

“Yeah..”

“So… I can do it. I can transfigure into a mouse… They won’t notice me, and I can see what’s going on inside. That way you can keep a watch for the aurors.”

“You sure?” Jamie asked.

“Definitely.” Albus gave him a look and then seemed to sink into his own head in thought. In just a matter of moments, he’d shimmered and dropped down into a tiny mouse version of himself with dark hair and green eyes.

Carlos scooped him up. “I’m just going to walk him across the street…. It wouldn’t be good if Albus got run over before he got there, and….” With that Carlos quickly skirted across the street and dropped Albus near a crack in the wall on the side of the building.

 

\------^^^^-------

 

When Albus made it inside it was dark, but his mouse eyes adjusted pretty quickly. His nose was also surprisingly alert. It was something he’d noticed before, but this time it was actually proving to be useful. He needed to spot out Scorpius’s scent and follow that. Unfortunately, at the moment he mostly noticed the stench of rat dung. That wasn’t a reassuring thought since he knew that a good portion of the Hogwarts food supplies were being purchased from des Jardins. He hoped that the rats were restricted to the walls and were not living it up in his Pixie Puffs.

Eventually, he came to a little gap in the wall where the scent of Scorpius was a little stronger. He wiggled himself through and found himself in some kind of office space. He looked up. There was a large table or desk and above that it appeared there was a set of windows. From his vantage point he could really only see the very tops of the windows, but there were blinds, so… they must be covering windows.

He scampered up one of the legs of the table and got himself up higher. They room did have windows. He moved over to the sill and nudged in between the slats of the blind to take a look in the room next door. There he was! Scorpius was sitting in the room attached to this one. Albus thought that Scorpius must be magically bound because he was just sitting there with his eyes closed, but didn’t appear to have ropes or anything tying him down.

Albus ran to the end of the table and looked down. There was a door at the end of the room, and the gap under was probably big enough for Albus to squeeze under. So, he skittered down the nearest table leg and squinched himself under the door. When he made it under he ran directly toward Scorpius and up onto his shoe.

Scorpius felt a little something on his foot, shook it and looked down to see a raven haired mouse clinging stubbornly to his laces.

“Albus” Scorpius whispered “Is that you?”

Mousey-Albus bobbed up and down enthusiastically. Albus had no real way to talk with Scorpius in this state, but ran up his leg and his shirt until he was at his shoulder and could rub his head against Scorpius’ neck.

Scorpius laughed, both with happiness and because it tickled a little “I guess that counts as a mousey-hug?”

Mousey-Albus bobbed up and down again then ran back down Scorpius’ chest and sat on his knee where they could see each other better. He made some motions toward the windows by jerking his little body in that general direction and then staring meaningfully at Scorpius.

“Some people are outside? Jamie?”

Albus bobbed.

“The aurors?”

Albus moved a little less enthusiastically.

“You’re not sure..”

Again, less enthusiasm.

“They’re on their way?”

Albus bobbed up and down.

“Okay…” Scorpius breathed deeply, “There are four of them here. Karl and Kris Jenkins, some man who looks like he’s related to Tom Goyle and some older woman. The woman seems to be running the show. When I saw them last they were in an office at the end of the corridor of offices… I really don’t know if there’s more than one area with offices, but… The corridor that runs from the garage space in the loading area.”

Albus bobbed to let Scorpius know he was hearing everything.

“She seems mean, the Jenkins seem scared of her.”

Albus bobbed, then he rubbed the side of his head against Scorpius’ leg. He was trying to be reassuring because he could see that Scorpius seemed a little frightened.

Scorpius took a deep breath, “I’ll be okay. Tell Jamie and your dad I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have come on my own, but I saw Karl, and I was just so bloody tired of feeling this way…”

Albus tapped Scorpius on the leg with one of his feet.

“I’d give you a pat if I could, but my arms are bound and I’m stuck to this chair.”

Albus bobbed again, indicating that he understood, then gave Scorpius a little rub and a pat again and was off, down Scorpius’ leg and across the room.

 

\-------^^^^------

 

When Albus made it outside he took a quick look up and down the street and then ran like hell to the other side of the street to rendezvous with Jamie and Carlos. In just a moment he morphed back into human-Albus and was pulling his clothing back on.

“Okay. I found him.” Albus was saying as he tugged on his shirt. “He’s in a large warehouse room just inside. He says there are four people. Two are the Jenkins, Karl and Kris, and there’s a man and some older woman who’s in charge. He says they’re in some office in an corridor off the garages by the loading zone.” Albus looked around “Where are those aurors?”

“Professor Williams?” Jamie asked into the sickle again.

“Why don’t you call me Lin….” The Professor tried to sound reassuring, “I’m here. Go ahead.”

“Do you know how much longer?”

“Should be any minute.”

“Albus got in, and Scorpius says there are four people. Karl and Kris and some guy as well as an older woman. The woman’s in charge. They’re in an office off the loading bays on the southwest side of the building.”

Albus was tugging on Jamie’s sleeve. “Tell them Scorpius is bound and in a chair…”

“Scorp’s in a large warehouse room on the north side, he’s bound into a chair.”

Just then they noticed a light going on in the room where Scorpius was being held.

“Something’s happening.” Jamie told the Professor. “The light in the room just went on…. Where are they?”

 

\------^^^^-------

 

Scorpius squinted momentarily as the lights shot on in the room. The woman and the man came in and he loosened the bind that was holding him and stood him up.

“What’s happening now?” Scorpius asked the man.

“We’re moving you.” The woman sneered.

“Why?” Scorpius asked, “What use am I to you, anyway?”

He was just about to suggest they just obliviate him and let him go when the woman said, “You’ve got plenty of use, Malfoy. I’m sure you’re worth something to your father and the Potters, and that makes you worth something to me.”

Scorpius wondered how she was tied to his dad and Mr. Potter… and why she’d want to be bargaining with them. It’s true they had some money, but ransom was a ridiculous idea. No one ever got away with that kind of thing unless they were willing to go on the run, and something about this woman made him think she was too invested in things going on here to change course now. Before he had a chance to say anything else, they were marching him back down the hallway and toward the loading dock area.

As Scorpius walked down the hall with the man’s wand poking him in his side he remembered the keys from the desk. They really were moving him.

 

\------^^^^------

 

Jamie felt the pulse of his amulet pick up again. Something was happening. He was just about to run across the road when he saw a figure jogging toward them. It was Professor Williams holding his broom.

“Come on” he whispered, motioning to Jamie, Albus and Carlos, directing them to follow him back up the street toward the loading dock area.

When they drew closer to the southwest corner, Williams spoke again, “It looks like they might be getting ready to go somewhere… When I was approaching, I noticed them packing some things into a small delivery truck.”

They positioned themselves in a dark doorway across the street from the loading dock and watched. In less than a minute, the door was opening and the woman and man were walking Scorpius around the backside of the van and tossing him in. Jamie drew his wand and felt Professor Williams’ hand on his shoulder.

“Wait.”

“For what?” Jamie asked. “We can’t let them move him.”

“But we know there are at least four of them… It’s possible there are five – I saw someone who didn’t match the descriptions you gave – and there are only three of us and Scorpius is in a bad location.”

“Yeah, and where are the others? Weren’t those Aurors supposed to be here ten minutes ago?” Jamie was irritated and angry now.

“They were. I have no idea.” Williams looked around, wondering what exactly was taking them so long.

Then the three of them heard the sound of the truck starting. Jamie pulled his shoulder from under William’s hand, “I’m done waiting.”

Just then there was a whoosh as a team of four aurors arrived on their broomsticks, but their delay had been long enough that the truck was already pulling out of the forecourt and heading down the street. Worse, they seemed to have gotten some sense of the commotion because it immediately sped up.

That’s when Williams jumped on his broom and spoke into his watch, evidently hailing someone on the other end, “They’re on the move. We’re going to need to track them and cut them off somewhere advantageous. Can you track me? While you do, I can try to sweep in and put a signal on their van.”

With that, Williams was off, as were the aurors, leaving Jamie, Albus and Carlos standing on an empty street staring at one another. Jamie took a quick look across the road and, seeing some vehicles in the lot, pulled at Albus, “Come on. We’re not just gonna’ stand here.”

They pulled the gate open, which had been left unlocked in the group’s haste to leave. Jamie jumped on a motorbike and looked at the two of them.

“We’re not all three going to fit on there,” Albus said, pointing out the obvious. Then, he looked at Carlos and said “You’re going to have to carry me.” Suddenly, he was shifting back to mousey-Albus, and Carlos snatched him up and popped him in his coat pocket.

Carlos jumped on the bike behind Jamie. “Do you have any idea how to drive this thing?” He asked sounding both doubtful and a little frightened.

“Yup, Teddy keeps them. He showed me how. He and my Granddad like to restore old ones for fun…. Just hold on and lean with me.” Then Jamie hit the gas and they were off.

 

\------^^^^------

 

After being unceremoniously tossed in the back of the van, Scorpius was surprised to find he wasn’t alone. The Jenkins were also there, and they’d been bound, too. At least that’s what Scorpius immediately assumed based on their huddled and pained expressions.

Scorpius looked at them, not really knowing what to say when Kris broke in, “Sorry about this, but you really shouldn’t follow people where you’re not invited.”

Scorpius rolled his eyes. He was really in no mood to be lectured by someone who seemed, based on all available information, to be engaging in some kind of criminal behavior.

Then again maybe they could be helpful or at least distracting… “So, how’d you get yourselves tied up?”

“Because of you, you ponce.” Karl sneered.

“I didn’t ask you, ass.” Scorpius answered before pointedly turning to address Kris. “So, the woman decide you’re no longer useful? Or’s she just pissed that your idiot brother here can’t follow directions?” For a moment, Scorpius surprised himself. Then he thought that maybe his disdain for Karl was outweighing his anxiety over the situation at large. If that was the case, he was sticking with thinking about how much he really disliked Karl Jenkins.

Kris huffed, looked the other way and mumbled, “You really have no idea what you’re dealing with here.”

“Neither to you, evidently, or things would be going better for you, wouldn’t they?” Scorpius shot back.

While Kris continued staring at the wall of the van and Karl sulked, Scorpius rode his very strong dislike of Karl and took stock of the situation. He noticed that when the man tossed him into the van he didn’t bother to tighten his bonds. As a result, both his arms and legs were considerably looser than they should have been. It was possible that with some work he could undo the spell.

He sat very still and worked on trying to concentrate despite the knocking and swaying of the van. He looked at his legs where the _brachiabindo_ was in place and whispered “ _Emancipare_ ” over and over again, imagining the bonds dissolving. Eventually, he felt them loosen and fall away. When he finished with his legs he was able to repeat the spell on his arms.

He looked back and Kris and Karl who were staring at him now. “Do either of you have any idea where we’re going?”

They shook their heads.

Great. They were going to be zero help. He cast a quick, small lumos to get a better look at what else was in the back of the van. It was mainly food. It must have been a delivery for some place that des Jardins serviced.

He needed a plan.

 

\------^^^^------

 

Jamie kept following the aurors’ brooms and the tail lights of the van as it sped up the road and out of the village. They were threading through country lanes now, past small farms and fields and up into the highlands. Thanks to a nearly full moon, he was able to make out some of the landscape and track the aurors’ movements in the sky above.

The truck was moving dangerously fast on the narrow roads, and Jamie hoped the woman, who seemed to have been the driver, didn’t do anything stupid.

Just then, the truck took a sharp right, keeling up onto two wheels and skidding onto a new roadway.

“Hold on.” Jamie yelled back at Carlos, as the bike took a sharp dip through the turn and their knees skimmed close to the pavement. He could feel the tips of Carlos’ fingers digging into his ribs as held tight.

 

\------^^^^------

 

Scorpius was launched backward against the side of the van as the truck lurched around the corner. The woman seemed to be becoming more erratic with her driving, and Scorpius wondered if they were being pursued. He could feel the pulse of Jamie’s emotions strong and heavy through the amulet, and knew something must be going on.

He took another look around the van, trying to come up with some kind of plan that could help him out. He wasn’t going to be able to bust out of the van… at least not while it was moving… And, he was pretty sure he wasn’t going to be able to create an explosion…. But…

Then it came to him. _Despicable Me!_

He looked back around at the food in the van. The Pixie Puffs could work.

 

\------^^^^------

 

As they neared the top of the rise, Jamie saw them. Two of the aurors from the team that was following the van had broken off and were sweeping in from the north to cut off the van’s route.

The van skidded forward as someone inside hit the breaks, hard.

Jamie hit his breaks, too, and he and Carlos tumbled off the bike and into a grassy ditch on the side of the road.

 

\------^^^^------

 

Scorpius was thrown backward with the quick stop, but was cushioned by a decidedly unhappy Karl.

He quickly scampered back toward the rear of the van and tore open a box of the cereal, tossing the contents toward the rear doors of the van and watching the small crispies and loops fall down between the door and the floor of the van.

This could work. He told himself, then he summoned as much concentration as he could and envisioned his spell to the best of his ability. “ _Engorgio_ ” he ordered.

 

\------^^^^------

 

Just as Jamie and Carlos were pulling themselves out of the ditch and checking to make sure Albus was okay, they saw the bottom of the rear doors of the van begin to buckle outward.

At the same time, the aurors had landed, and were approaching the van, wands drawn.

The van was surrounded, and things should have resolved peacefully, but just then the back of the van popped open and the woman in the van began opening fire on the aurors approaching from the front.

As bursts of light from the snapping spells lit up the road and sky, Jamie noticed that they weren’t alone. Suddenly, there were at least three more people who had joined the fray. Two of them had begun firing on the aurors in the front of the truck and at least one was engaged with the aurors behind.

That’s when Jamie saw Scorpius’ head poking out from the enormous pile of cereal that had spilled out of the rear of the truck.

Jamie ran in his direction, wand drawn. “Get down!” He yelled as Scorp looked toward him.

Scorpius looked around. Everything seemed to be moving in the strangest kind of slow motion. Jamie was running toward him, wand drawn, and yelling at him. When he turned to look in the other direction, he saw a couple of men exchanging hexes and spells with two aurors… and was that Professor Williams coming up behind them?

He looked back again toward the men, and saw one of them pointing his wand at Jamie, who was still running toward him. He looked both fierce and scared at the same time, it was odd, really… Not something he’d seen before… Then he turned again and saw the man with the wand starting to utter a spell. He couldn’t hear him or really make out what his lips were saying, but the look on the man’s face was clear. It was bad. It was very bad, and it he was aiming right at Jamie.

Then things really began to fall into shards and images. There was an enormous emerald green. Jamie was running forward. Fire crossed the sky, and Scorpius threw himself up in the air between the man’s wand and Jamie, arm extended. He felt himself scream “ _Protego Horribilis_ ,” then a hot scraping sensation crossed his hand, arm and face.

Then he heard Jamie's voice before everything stopped.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the cliff-hanger, but don't worry. I believe in happy endings.


	17. Touch and Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They say the first 72 hours are the hardest, and waiting's not easy on anyone. Plus, who likes hospitals?

Ginny stood watching through the windows of the Critical Care Theatre as her son clung to Scorpius Malfoy’s hand, only releasing momentarily at the healers’ direction while they worked treating Scorpius’ arm, chest and face for the burns, cuts and evisceration he’d endured. They’d tried to make Jamie wait outside, but he wouldn’t let go, and Scorpius was screaming so violently they determined it was wiser to try to maintain any condition that would help calm him in the moments before they could sedate him. So, they treated them both with surgical grade _scourgifying_ charms and brought Jamie into the theater alongside his boyfriend.

The sound of healers explaining the situation to Draco entered her consciousness, but just barely. She couldn’t look away from the scene unfolding before her. Her heart was breaking thinking of what was happening now, and the pain her son was experiencing, and what had happened so many years ago. Young bodies just like Scorpius’, damaged and bleeding…

She felt Draco draw near beside her. She must have been the second person Lin called after he apparated Jamie and Scorpius to St. Mungo’s from the scene…. The scene... that’s what they had called it for lack of a better word. Ginny was still unclear what had happened other than that Scorpius had been abducted and there had been a firefight. She cursed herself for letting Harry talk her into agreeing to this… letting their children become involved in an investigation like this. Of course, he couldn’t have known…

_Thank Merlin her boys_ … As soon as the thought surfaced, Ginny checked herself and looked at Draco. He was so drawn. She could see the terror coursing through him with every pump of his heart. Instinctively she reached out and took his hand, lacing their fingers together. He squeezed it in thanks and took a breath.

“They say that it could have been much worse….” He started, reiterating the words she’d failed to hear earlier. “Apparently, the combination of Scorpius’ counter curse, Jamie’s actions and their Bind Rune might have helped…”

He paused, and she noticed how tightly he was gripping her hand, almost as if it were a lifeline – either for himself or Scorpius, she wasn’t sure.

Draco continued, “They’re not sure what the curse was, but potentially an unforgivable… They’ve taken the readings to a lab for analysis and healers and some of the Aurors’ Forensics Team are going through them now.”

Ginny nodded and struggled for the right words. What could she possibly say? She decided not to say anything but to just hang on to his hand as long as he would let her.

“They’re hoping that if they come up with something it will help with treatment…” He stopped speaking then, and she could tell that he just couldn’t physically speak any longer.

 

\------^^^^------

 

It was about thirty minutes later, as the work seemed to be winding up in the theater, when Lin and Harry arrived. They’d been involved in the debriefing of the aurors who’d been at the scene, and had only just been able to break away. It wasn’t until they walked in the viewing area, and Draco let go of Ginny to embrace Lin, that Draco realized he’d been holding Ginny Potter’s hand for the better part of a half-hour.

“How’s he doing?” Lin asked.

Draco shrugged, “It seems to be going well. I think they’re nearing the end.”

“And you?” Lin asked, gently rubbing Draco’s arm. “How are you?”

Draco shrugged again. “We’ll see… I suppose that depends on him.”

Lin drew Draco in close and could feel the tension that was holding him together. “I’m here. Whatever you need. I’m here, and I’m staying for however long you need. Okay?”

He felt Draco nod and kept holding on until Draco gave him a little nudge. Lin turned and saw the reason for it, the healers were levitating Scorpius out of the theatre.

 

\------^^^^------

 

Scorpius felt all syrupy and heavy. He tried to think, but as soon as an idea started to come into his head it disappeared into a haze.

He let himself not think too much, just the minimum. He was in some kind of bed. He could feel Jamie’s head on the bed, breathing on one of his hands. He was tired. It was some kind of potion or sedation spell.

There was nothing else he could do. So he let the sedative do its thing, and he slipped back under.

When he woke again he felt stinging on his face and arm. He tried to move to see what was going on, but everything was dark. He must have had some kind of bandaging and protective charm over him.

Then he felt Jamie’s hand on his left hand and heard Jamie’s voice, softly, from nearby. “Hey, don’t try moving. They have you under a therapeutic bandage and charm. You were injured. Your head, and chest, and arm, they’re all under wraps.”

Scorpius tried to speak, but either the sedation or the charm prevented it.

“Hold on and I’ll get your dad. He’s here. He just stepped outside.”

Jamie felt Scorpius squeeze his hand, and he bent over and kissed it softly. “I love you. Everything’s going to be okay.”

Scorpius cringed at how shaky Jamie’s voice sounded.

In less than a minute Scorpius heard feet come in the room and his dad’s hand was wrapped around the same hand Jamie had been holding earlier.

“Scorpius, can you hear me?”

Scorpius gripped his dad’s hand in response.

“You’re at St. Mungo’s. You were injured in the fight. Do you remember that?”

Scorpius gripped his dad’s hand again. Yes, he remembered. The man with the wand. The curse. That scraping heat. He remembered that.

“You were cursed. They aren’t sure what, but there were burns and wounds across your arms, chest and head. They’ve worked on you and applied some poultices and counteracting spells, but it’s going to take a little time.”

His dad sounded tense, unsure. Scorpius gripped his hand and felt his dad squeezing his hand in return.

“The affected area needs to stay under this therapeutic charm for the next couple of days. Then they’ll remove it, and we’ll see what the situation is.”

Scorpius held on to his dad’s hand and tried to soothe him by rubbing circles on the back of his hand with his thumb. His dad brought his hand up to his face and held it to his cheek.

“I’m here, and Jamie’s here, and Albus is just outside, too.”

At that, Scorpius tugged at his dad’s hand. He wanted to see Albus, if he was there.

“You want Albus?” His dad asked.

Scorpius tugged at his dad’s hand again.

“Okay, I’ll get him… We’ll be here. I’m having Lin bring some books for us to read to you… Some of your favorites.”

In a moment, Albus came in. Scorpius recognized his shuffle from all the mornings and nights he’d heard it in their dorm. Having Albus in the room somehow made him feel lighter. Like things might be okay, like normal. He heard Albus sit down next to the bed.

“Hey, how are you?”

Scorpius held up his available hand and gave a ‘so-so’ motion. He realized he was starting to think more clearly. The downside of being more lucid was that he could feel his skin stinging and itching more as it was trying to heal.

“I’m not going to lie. I was scared shitless… I really thought…” Then Albus stopped and seemed to be gasping for air. Scorpius thought he might be crying. He motioned him closer and heard Albus slide the chair closer to the bed. He put out his hand and Albus took it. Scorpius could feel him shaking and he loosened his grip so that he could rub Albus’ arm.

“Merlin, Scorp. I’m supposed to be making you feel better…. I’m just so glad you’re okay… Well, at least…. We were all… We were really scared… You….” Albus stopped again, and Scorpius made a gesture with his left hand that he hoped looked like a ‘what happened?’ movement.

After a moment in which Scorpius thought Albus was gathering himself together he heard Albus again. “What happened?” Albus asked, and Scorpius gave him a thumbs-up. “Well, there was the fighting, and then I blew fire, and you jumped in front of that curse, and then you were injured and Jamie was yelling…” Albus stopped when he realized that Scorpius was motioning something that looked like ‘what?’ “Oh, yeah… I breathed fire… Turns out I can also transfigure into a dragon.”

Scorpius made a movement that Albus interpreted as ‘what the hell?’ “Yeah, I know… Kind of a surprise, but I just really wanted to be big and powerful and all of the sudden Mousey-Albus was Dragon-Albus… Anyway, then you were injured, and Jamie was yelling, and Professor Williams ran up, and you were burned and scraped, and it looked really bad. Really bad. I mean… I just never….” Albus paused for a moment again and sounded like he was catching his breath.

“Then Professor Williams apparated you and Jamie away, and in less than a minute it was over. The aurors had the woman, the lady who you saw, and the man in custody, and the Jenkins, and a couple of the others… but it seems like…” Then he stopped again, seeming unsure.

Scorpius made motions like ‘what else is there?, ’and Albus continued, “One or two of them, the one that hit you, for sure, they apparated away before the aurors could arrest them, but we’ve got descriptions… I’m sure they’ll find them soon…”

Scorpius knew that Albus was worried that he’d be frightened that they were still out there. Strangely, Scorpius didn’t really feel that worried about them. Maybe he was completely wrong, but he didn’t really think they thought he was a threat. Maybe Karl and Kris should be worried...

Scorpius had so many questions, and he couldn’t get them all out now, but he needed to know... He motioned to his injuries and made a question move with his hand.

“I don’t know. I think the healers don’t really know. I’m not sure… They don’t really know how your skin will heal… and….” Albus paused again, obviously unsure about sharing more.

Scorpius motioned that he should go on.

Albus knew that Scorpius needed him to be honest. Mr. Malfoy was going to try to be gentle, and Jamie was so worried that neither of them would be completely truthful with Scorpius. He was just concerned that the truth might scare Scorpius. He held on to Scorpius’ hand as he began to speak again, and Scorpius realized this could be serious

“I think they’re most worried about your eyes. You couldn’t see when they brought you in, and the burns and scrapes…” Albus felt Scorpius starting to grip his hand more tightly. He reached his other hand out and rubbed on Scorpius’ leg, trying to keep him calm. “They really don’t know yet. That’s why they need to wait on the treatment.”

Then Albus took Scorpius’ hand in both of his. “I know it’s probably going to be hard, but we just have to wait and see. Whatever happens, though, I know we’ll figure it out. Everyone will help. Everyone.”

Scorpius could feel himself getting anxious which reminded him of the amulet. He motioned to his neck and made a motion he hoped would communicate the question.

After a moment of trying to get the idea, Albus said, “Oh, your amulet. Right. They took it off when you came in because it was in the way. I’ll see. I think Jamie might have it.”

Scorpius grabbed at Albus’ hand and gave it some squeezes and tugs.

“Do you want me to get Jamie?” Scorpius gave a thumbs-up.

“Okay. Hang on.” Then Albus bent over and gave Scorpius a partial hug of the part of Scorpius he could grab on to. “It’s going to be okay, okay?”

Scorpius rubbed Albus’ head. He hoped it would.

 

\------^^^^-------

 

The next two days seemed endless. Even though his dad, Jamie, and Albus tried to make the time pass more quickly by reading to him and having conversations, it was still excruciating.

Physically, Scorpius was feeling a lot better. The stinging and itching quieted down sometime in the second day, and he was finally able to get some real sleep, but the thoughts about what might or might not happen when they finally removed the therapeutic bandaging kept nagging at him. He wanted to know now, but also was scared to death about what would happen when they took the bandage off.

For the most part, his dad and Jamie seemed to be holding up. He’d heard some arguing outside the room a couple of times. Once between Mr. and Mrs. Potter about Jamie and Albus going back to school. That was on the first day, Thursday, and Mrs. Potter had successfully argued that two days away weren’t going to matter, and that neither Jamie nor Albus was going to be doing any concentrating before they knew about his condition.

Another time Scorpius heard what his father would euphemistically label a ‘discussion’ between Mr. Potter and himself. They were talking about what happened on Wednesday and if Scorpius would be needed as a witness. Mr. Potter was trying to keep the door open to having more than just Scorpius’ statement, and his father was informing him, in the strongest terms that could be used without raised voices, that he’d have to walk over his dead body before he was dragging his son into a trial.

He’d also heard his dad shouting, but it wasn’t an argument. He was upset, angry. He was yelling at Professor Williams because he was angry that he, Scorpius, had stepped into the path of that curse. He was angry that somehow a Potter had caused his son to be nearly killed, again. He was just generally angry, and scared, and Scorpius could hear it in his father’s voice. Then he heard Professor Williams calming him, saying soothing things and reassuring him, and Scorpius was soothed, too. Somehow knowing that his dad had someone to make him feel better, less alone and scared, made Scorpius feel a lot better.

Once he felt tears on Jamie’s cheek. Jamie was sitting next to the bed with his head on Scorpius’ stomach, and Scorpius was running his fingers through Jamie’s hair. He moved his hand down to Jamie’s cheek and felt it, the wetness of tears. Jamie pulled away to try to cover it up, but Scorpius knew he’d been crying. He motioned for him, and Jamie moved his head back.

“I’m sorry, Scorp…” He said softly, “I’m trying, but…” He couldn’t say anything more, but Scorpius knew what it was about. He ran his fingers through Jamie's hair and traced his fingers around the edges of his eyes and let his hand rest on his cheek.

Jamie breathed deeply, “I just want you to be okay.”

 

\------^^^^------

 

Finally, on Saturday evening, after three full days of waiting, the healers came to release the charm and remove the bandaging. Scorpius could feel the room fill with people. He assumed his dad was there along with Jamie and probably Albus, and there was a good chance that Professor Williams was there, and maybe even Mr. and Mrs. Potter. He felt himself getting hot and wondered if it was from all the people or his nerves.

It took an unbearable time for the healers to remove the charms they’d been using to protect his skin and speed the healing. Of course they started with his hand and arm and then moved up to his head.

“Oh, thank Merlin…” he said as soon as he realized he could speak. Finally, he could speak. It was glorious. He hadn’t ever had to go that long in his life without talking, ever. It was so great to be able to speak again he almost forgot that he still had to have the bandages on his eyes removed.

They finally reached the charms and bandaging protecting his eyes, and he could feel someone unfamiliar sit down by his side to remove the last pieces.

“Okay,” the healer’s voice said, “Your skin looks good. Before I remove the last bits so that you can try to open your eyes I need to caution you. It may be that you can’t see right now, or that your vision is very poor or dim. We really don’t know. I don’t want you to think that whatever you experience now is permanent. We don’t know that. It can take a very long time to heal from injuries like these, and we’re still working out all the details of the curse and interactions that caused this. Do you understand that?”

“Yes,” Scorpius confirmed, “Whatever happens now, it might not be permanent. Don’t get my hopes up, right?”

“Right, and please just trust in the process. I have a very strong feeling this is going to take a while, and I don’t want you to be upset if things seem bad.”

“Okay. I promise.” Scorpius was getting anxious. He wanted to get on with things and just know, one way or another.

“Can you dim the lights please?” The healer asked before she removed the last of the bandaging. “Okay, you can open your eyes… slowly. Even the low light might be a bit much depending upon what’s going on.”

Scorpius felt himself raising his eyelids, but nothing seemed to be happening. He looked around. It was possible that he was seeing something, but he wasn’t sure if he was or if he was just imagining it.

Then he heard his Dad make a sound that sounded like some kind of gasp. He was upset.

“Dad.” He called to him. He needed to be alone with his dad, just until they could talk about this. “Um… can everyone but my dad and the healer leave now?”

He felt Jamie touch his hand, “We’ll be outside.”

When everyone had shuffled out Scorpius asked, “Who’s in here?”

“It’s just you, the healer and me.” Draco answered taking hold of Scorpius’ hand.

“Well, I can’t see, or if I can, it’s not much. Maybe just a tiny bit of light here or there.” He heard his dad gasp again.

“Dad… Were you listening to the healer a few moments ago? It’s a process. This might not be permanent, right?”

“Yes, that’s right” The healer answered. “We can get you in for some additional tests, but visually, you look good. So, we’ll want to take a look at the structures in your eyes and get a sense of what we’re dealing with.” She continued, “And, again, when we have more information about what exactly happened, we can also make adjustments to your treatment.”

“How long are we talking about?” Draco asked with an edge to his voice.

“We really don’t know, Mr. Malfoy. It could be just a few weeks, or it could be a longer process. We also don’t know the extent to which the damage might be permanent.”

“Permanent?” Draco sounded really on edge now.

“Yes, we’ll just have to see how things go.”

“You must be joking. That’s the best you have to offer?” Draco was yelling now, his emotions getting the best of him. “My son can’t see, and you’re just flippantly telling him ‘well, wait and see?’”

“Dad.” Scorpius tried to interject but the healer beat him to it.

“Mr. Malfoy, I know this is stressful and not what we’d hoped, but we’re at the beginning of this process and not the end. There is still so much to be done.”

“Well, then.” Draco continued in an extremely loud voice, “I strongly urge you to stop offering us your ineffectual consolation and get to it.”

Then Draco heard something he didn’t expect, laughter.

 

\------^^^^^-------

 

Outside the room, the Potters and Professor Williams could hear Draco getting angry on the other side of the door.

Jamie turned away and rested his forehead against the wall. His head was pounding with the effort of keeping his emotions in check. Then he felt two arms wrap around him. It was his mother.

“He’s blind, mom.” Jamie whispered through the tears that started falling at her touch.

Ginny squeezed him tight, her cheek pressed into the space below his shoulder blades. “We don’t know what that means right now. Like the healer said, it’s a process. It could be a long one.”

“But what if he can’t ever see?”

“Then, we’ll figure it out. Scorpius is brave and tough. I know people don’t see that when they look at him, but think of everything he’s done, everything he’s stood up to.”

“I know, but… blind… everything he loves, books, and antiquities, and archaeology, the stars… If he can’t see…” Jamie had to stop then because his throat was closing up on him.

“I know, but let’s just deal with everything as it comes. Okay?” Ginny felt Jamie nod and brush away the tears that she knew were streaking down his face.

Then they heard it, laughter coming from Scorpius’ room.

 

\------^^^^-------

 

Everyone waited until the door opened and the slightly exasperated healer exited the room.

Jamie poked his head around the corner of the doorframe, and Draco looked up at him, “Jamie, will you please tell my son that my concern about his wellbeing is not ridiculous?”

Scorpius turned his head in Jamie’s direction and responded, “My father seems to be under the impression that if he commands it very loudly the healers will restore my sight. As if they’re just holding back, waiting for the right amount of parental ire.”

Jamie didn’t know what to make of this situation. He was glad that Scorpius wasn’t crushed by his condition, but confused by his reaction to his father’s concern.

“Um…. Well, I don’t know that...” Jamie started trying to figure out how to bridge this strange turn of events.

“Perhaps it would be best if I step out for a moment. Then I can return and speak with Scorpius again when he’s collected himself.” Draco concluded and stood, his chair scraping loudly across the tile floor.

The door slammed shut behind Draco, and Jamie and Scorpius were left in the room by themselves. Jamie sat down on the bed next to Scorpius and brushed his hair out of his face.

“So, be honest… How bad do I look?”

“Well, you could use a shower. You’re kind of grungy.” Jamie answered.

“I mean the scars. My face. Is it bad?”

“Aren’t you vain.” Jamie teased. “Actually..” He held Scorpius’ face by the chin and moved it back and forth, inspecting him. “You look good. Everything seems to be healing. There might be a small scar or two, but honestly… I think they’ll probably just end up making you look kind of sexy.”

“So, blind… but hot.” Scorpius added. Then, all of the sudden he started to shake, “Shit, Jamie… I can’t see….” He was starting to really shake, and Jamie saw the tears welling up and realized that reality was suddenly sinking in.

Jamie shifted in the bed and pulled Scorpius close, cradling his head against his shoulder as Scorpius began to cry in earnest. “I can’t see… I mean… What if I never can?”

Jamie didn’t say anything, just held Scorpius and ran his fingers through his hair as Scorpius continued, “What am I going to do?... What if… And, you… will you??” Jamie knew where Scorpius’ mind was going.

He pushed Scorpius away, holding him by the shoulders, and looked him square in the face. “Scorpius Malfoy, don’t ever think what you’re thinking. Listen to me closely.” Jamie felt Scorpius shudder in his hands. “Are you listening?” Scorpius nodded and Jamie continued, “I love you, and I know that I’m only seventeen, and it’s ridiculous to think, but as of this moment I plan on spending as much of the rest of my life with you as I possibly can.”

Scorpius broke in. “That’s as of now, but what happens next year, when you’ve graduated and…?” Scorpius’ voice hitched and he turned his head away, not even wanting to think about looking Jamie in the face as he considered what could happen.

“No.” Jamie held his grip tight and kept going. “We would have had to deal with all of that anyway, and we would have, because I know that I’m never going to find someone else like you. There is no one else like you, Scorpius. You’re brilliant, and funny, and filled with enthusiasm... and strong, and nothing keeps you from what you want … not really. You find ways to keep going, no matter what. Think about it. There is no one like you, and there won’t ever be anyone that could replace you, for me. Not ever.”

Scorpius head was hanging and he was crying again, and Jamie pulled him into his arms and held him tight.

“I’m scared, Jamie. I don’t know what to do next.”

“I don’t know either, but we’ll just do one thing at a time. And, I promise, I won’t give up. We’ll keep at it until you can do everything you want, whether or not you can see. Everything. I mean it. I love you Scorpius and I won’t give up.”

Jamie could feel Scorpius holding him tight and nod into his shoulder between sniffles. Then he felt a big, shuddering sigh before Scorpius spoke again “Okay.”

 

\------^^^^-------

 

They came to an agreement that Jamie, Albus and Ginny would stay over with Scorpius on Saturday night while Harry went back to work and Draco went home to get some sleep and supplies for Scorpius. Draco hadn’t wanted to leave, but Scorpius insisted. And, given that Jamie and Albus were going to have to return to school on Monday, Draco had a lot of hospital duty ahead of him. The healers expected Scorpius to stay another week while he learned some of the basics with the various aids and supports he’d need to use to substitute for his vision while he healed.

So, Draco bid his son good night and prepared to floo home after spending 72 hours at St. Mungo's. He felt like he might not even recognize the world outside the hospital any longer. Nothing was the same. He turned and grabbed Lin’s hand.

“Can you come… with me?”

“Of course.” Lin held his hand tight, “Where else would I go?”

When they reached the Manor, Draco looked around. It was all exactly as he left it, but of course, not at all the same. Nothing he looked at had the same meaning anymore. All of Scorpius’ books, his telescope, and the little pieces of things they’d collected on trips together. All the ridiculous family portraits his son would never look at again.

He felt a warm presence behind him.

“Come on. We can gather everything together tomorrow. Let’s just get you to bed now.”

He let Lin steer him to the bedroom, feeling less and less with each step, like life itself was slowly leeching out of his body. His mind, though, wouldn’t turn off. Thoughts kept bombarding him endlessly. There was a constant buzz in his head; lists, questions, more lists, things not to forget, worries about forgetting, and wondering.

He let Lin work his clothes off and settle him in the bed, and then felt him slide in next to him. The warmth felt so good, and Draco was suddenly seized with the need to feel more. To feel as much warmth has he could.

He pulled Lin close and kissed him, and Lin surrounded Draco with his warm arms. When Draco opened his eyes he was looking into Lin’s eyes; those warm, brown eyes that wrapped him up in safety, love, and desire.

“Tell me what you want.” Lin whispered.

“I need you. I just need to feel you.” Draco answered, pulling his lover close again, and Lin complied. His hands moved to caress every part of Draco, gently sliding from his shoulders and down his back to his hips and thighs. He continued, lavishing attention on Draco’s long, sinewy legs and caressing his feet.

Draco lay back and focused on the physical sensation of each movement.

Lin’s hands moved again, joining his mouth which had begun kissing Draco’s abdomen. His tongue moved softly to circle each of Draco’s nipples, and Draco held Lin’s head in his hands, trailing his long fingers down Lin’s neck and shoulders.

Then it was all mouth and lips again, and Draco responded with urgency. He needed more. His tongue reached for Lin’s, and his mouth opened wide, willing Lin in deeper. He felt Lin’s hands pull him closer, harder.

Lin’s hands moved between Draco’s thighs, wrapping them around him. The two men answered Draco’s need, grinding their erections together. The hot electricity of contact urged them on. Draco clung hard to Lin, needing more and more. He needed to just feel, to not think. He needed Lin to push every thought from his mind and fill him with sensation.

“Fuck me. I need you to fuck me.” Draco begged his lover, desperate for anything to wake his feeling and quiet his mind.

Draco felt a slick finger push inside him, and then another and he pushed down hard on them. He needed to feel that surge of contact. He wanted to be filled beyond reason.

When Draco was ready, Lin turned him over and Draco pulled himself up, holding on to the headboard, nearly gasping with need. “Oh god, please…” He didn’t want to wait. He just wanted to feel Lin full and deep inside him.

Then Lin’s hands were on his hips as he breached him, slowly at first, but Draco drove back and Lin sank in all the way. Draco pushed back hard, again and again, and Lin responded in kind, thrusting to meet Draco’s groans of pleasure as Lin lit him up inside, over and over.

Draco felt himself melting away as white hot pleasure radiated through his limbs. Lin’s hand was on his cock now guiding him further. He arched into Lin’s embrace as Lin rode him right to the cliff-like moment where they’d leap. Then everything tumbled in a rush with each burst and shudder. He came so hard he could barely breathe. He just held on and shook, not sure how he’d ever land.

Draco heard Lin’s gasp and cry as he came, too, and then felt Lin rest his cheek on the back of his head. Lin’s hand trailed up Draco’s abdomen, and Draco reached for it and held it over his own heart. He couldn’t speak.

“I’m here, my love.” He heard Lin say.

Draco let the words wash over him and began to weep.

 

\-------^^^^-------

 

When he woke the next morning, Draco was wrapped in his lover’s embrace. He rolled over to look at Lin, filled with thanks that he didn’t have to deal with all of this alone. He reached out and traced his thumb over Lin’s brow and cheek. His skin was glowing under Draco’s touch.

A smile bloomed on Lin’s face, “You’re awake.” His eyes opened, and Draco felt warmed in them.

Draco nodded, “Did I wake you?”

“Not really, I was just enjoying the quiet.” He stroked Draco’s back then trailed his hand down his side and over his thigh. “Did you sleep all right?”

Draco sighed and it sounded happy but tinged with a bit of resigned relief. “Yes. I really needed that. I needed you.” Draco’s thumb was tracing Lin’s cheek again, “Thank you… for everything.”

“You don’t need to do that. This is where I want to be.”

Draco wanted to protest, or explain how much it meant to him to have Lin there, not just there now, but there in the larger sense, but there were no words. So, he leaned in and kissed him softly and smiled.

After a moment he rolled over, thinking about the work for the day. He needed to gather Scorpius’ things, more clothing and perhaps some music. They had an entire week to fill before Scorpius could leave the hospital and… go where? Home, Draco supposed. He had no idea if Scorpius would even be able to return to school or how long it would be before he could. A very large part of him didn’t want him to go, either. He wanted to keep him close and safe, and he wasn’t sure how he’d trust the world with his son again.

Lin heard Draco sigh heavily and reached his hand over to knit their fingers together. “We’ll just do one thing at a time, okay?”

 

\------^^^^-------

 

Scorpius woke that morning to a heavy presence that smelled like Jamie. While Albus and Ginny had settled into chairs in his room for the night, Jamie had insisted on sharing the bed, wanting to be as close as physically possible to his boyfriend.

Scorpius groaned and rolled toward the heavy weight. “Merlin, Jamie, you’re a lump.” He moaned under the weight. He felt Jamie’s fingers thread through his hair before his hand settled on his cheek. Moments later Jamie’s lips brushed Scorpius’ with a light, good morning kiss.

Jamie felt Scorpius’ lips curl into a smile under his which brought forth a bud of hope that things really would be okay. He was going to have to return to Hogwarts today or tomorrow morning at the latest, and the idea of leaving Scorpius here scared him beyond belief. Scorpius must have sensed something because he wrapped Jamie in his arms and pulled him close.

“It’s going to be okay, you know…. It really is.” Scorpius whispered. “Besides, there are lots of things I can still do just as well as I could before.” Then Jamie felt Scorpius’ hand reaching down and gently brushing the front of his pants where his slightly hard cock was ready to greet the morning.

Jamie jumped back with a firm whisper “Scorp, Albus and my mom…”

“Well… I can’t see them….So….” He whispered back through a smile while he cocked one eyebrow up.

“You evil tease,” Jamie whispered as he pulled Scorpius close, “We can’t now, but just you wait until later.”

“Do you promise? Because I’ve been lying in this bed for more than three days, and my right hand was immobilized for most of it.”

That was when Jamie elected to silence his boyfriend with a kiss.


	18. Between Hogwarts and Hospital

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jamie and Albus head back to school while Scorpius spends another week in hospital. Everyone starts to try to adjust to the new situation - with mixed results.

Ginny managed to arrange it so that Albus and Jamie could stay at home Sunday night and then return to Hogwarts first thing Monday. She wanted to hold on to them for just one more night; to give them a chance at a decent night’s sleep before they had to face school without Scorpius. She didn’t know how it would be for them, but she knew from experience that wandering around that Castle while someone you loved was in trouble somewhere else was difficult. In the meantime, she settled Jamie and Albus back in their rooms and under her protection for at least a few hours longer.

It was dark, and the house was completely quiet when Jamie was jarred awake by a feeling of panic from the amulet. It wasn’t quite the same kind of panic he’d felt before. It was something sharper and more sudden. It occurred to Jamie that Scorpius might be having a nightmare, and Jamie wished that he was there. He fiddled with the amulet between his fingers as he wondered if he could somehow remind Scorpius that he was thinking of him even though he wasn’t right there with him.

Then he remembered the showers, or rather he remembered the time that Scorpius had been thinking of him while he was showering and he had felt it. If he could do that, or something like it, perhaps Scorp would feel it and know he was still here, on the other end. He was awake anyway, and he was thinking of Scorpius… and it’s not like it would be unpleasant. In fact, ‘thinking’ of Scorpius was one of his favorite activities… next to actually being with Scorpius, of course.

Jamie began to let his mind wander. He thought back to that afternoon after flying with Scorpius and how nervous he’d been. He remembered the sensation of being pulled by Scorpius into the shower, and the moment he put his towel aside and let Scorpius see him. He could still feel his heartbeat speed up with the sensation of really being seen, not just by anyone, but by someone he wanted to want him.

In his hospital room in St. Mungo’s Scorpius felt it, the growing pulse of the amulet, and knew that Jamie was on the other side. He didn’t immediately recognize that particular sensation, but his body did and began responding even before Scorpius was consciously aware of what was happening. When he realized what was was going on he felt himself blushing in the dark before he let himself relax into the sensation while his mind drifted back to the afternoon that had provided the initial fodder for that particular fantasy.

Jamie wrapped his hand around his cock as he thought about Scorpius’ hands and fingers drifting across his shoulders and down his chest as the water streamed over them. He remembered the sensation of melting beneath the steady beat of the shower and the silky path Scorpius’ hands followed around his waist, across his back, down his arms and into his hands. He could almost taste Scorpius on his lips, and see the pale blush that bloomed on them as they kissed and nipped one another. He had never felt so desired in his whole life, and it was almost more than he could bear.

Scorpius smiled to himself thinking of how shy Jamie had been that day, and how he dropped his eyes when they broke apart in the shower that first time while Scorpius took a full look at him. He had to pull Jamie’s gaze back to his so that he could tell him how beautiful he was; how much he loved looking at him. Scorpius trailed his fingertips through his hair and down his shaft thinking about how amazing Jamie looked standing there, and how he felt that if he’d been waiting his whole life for that moment it was absolutely worth it…

“I could look at you forever.” Scorpius had said.

Jamie recalled Scorpius’ words, and how he’d said he looked like something a muggle artist would have sculpted. Jamie remembered covering his intense blush by pulling Scorpius close and nearly attacking his mouth and neck. From that point, it was all slick, soapy hands and lips and tongues and water. Scorpius had wrapped his hand around their cocks and they pushed them in together, moaning and nearly whimpering with the pleasure of it.

Scorpius felt the pulse of the amulet quickening and he pushed himself harder, tightening his grip and speeding his pace as he thought of the sensation of slippery heat that grew between them that afternoon. He could nearly hear the sound of Jamie’s low moan that hitched and caught as he came. Scorpius felt himself shake and shudder and remembered the feeling of Jamie’s arms wrapping around him and holding him close.

Scorpius savored the memory of that afternoon as he slipped back into the present, feeling the gentle pulse of the amulet ease and steady as Jamie returned to his own relaxed and sleepy state. As he lay in the dark, he thought about the immensity of everything ahead, and was glad to know that even while he was here in the hospital Jamie was out there, connected to him in some way, and thinking of him.

 

\-------^^^^-------

 

The next morning Jamie and Albus stood alongside their mum in Professor McGonagall’s office as Ginny prepared to floo home. Ginny gave both her sons, and her daughter who’d been summoned to meet them, strong hugs and kisses.

“Owl me, and don’t forget if you need anything you can fire-call me or your dad, or ask Uncle Nev or Professor Williams… or the Headmistress.”

Albus and Jamie nodded.

“And, Albus, if you want to stay with Yann and Carlos instead of bunking in your own dorm you can. Professor Williams has arranged it with them.”

Albus nodded. “Thanks, Mom.” He wasn’t sure where he wanted to stay just yet, but having a choice was a little comforting.

“It’s only four weeks until the Easter break. So, we’ll see you soon, right?”

Then she hugged them all again, tossed the powder into the hearth, and left in the flash.

The three Potter children looked at each other, not really sure what was next. Thankfully, Professor McGonagall was there to instruct them.

“Well, you’d better go and gather your things for class. I’ll write up notes for you, as I suspect you will all be quite late for your first classes.” She bent over her desk and scratched out three notes on some parchment. “Now, run along, and remember you can always come to me if you need anything… And, you, Albus, I’ll see you this afternoon at four o’clock?”

Albus nodded as she showed the three of them to the door.

“I think we have quite a bit to discuss.” She remarked to Albus before she turned back into her office and left Jamie, Albus and Lily to sort out the rest of their day.

As they walked down the passage toward their respective dormitories, Lily spoke, “I know that I’m only thirteen, and you think I can be silly, but I’m still your sister. I’m actually pretty good at being a sister, though. So, if you need anything, or if you just want to talk about anything…” Then she reached for her brothers hands and made a chain of the three of them. “We’re all here together, and we have each other, no matter what. Okay?”

Jamie and Albus nodded again.

“You know, at some point you’re going to have to speak.” She said.

“I know.” Albus answered first.

“I just don’t know where to start.” Jamie continued.

 

\------^^^^-------

 

All day Albus and Jamie were the subjects of consoling glances and words, with the few exceptions being friends of Karl and/or Kris Jenkins who’d been suspended from school for their involvement in the events of the previous Wednesday. Jamie noticed that although everyone seemed to know that something had happened, and that Scorpius had been seriously injured, there was not a lot of information being shared.

The staff had said nothing to anyone about the supply pay-off scheme, and the pumpkin juice had simply been switched out to another brand from another supplier. It was as if it had all never happened except for the fact that Scorpius was absent, and Jamie and Albus felt his absence everywhere.

When Jamie got to his Charms class that day, he pulled Professor Finch-Fletchley aside. “Professor, do you have a moment?”

“Of course, Jamie, what is it?”

“Well, I wanted to talk to you about a couple of things. I was hoping you could help me with a couple of projects.”

“What were you thinking of?”

“I wanted to charm some readers for Scorpius. I’m not sure if they’ve told you, but at the moment, he can’t see… he…”

“Yes.” The Professor jumped in, noticing Jamie’s need for an assist, “Of course we can work on that. I’d be happy to help you, in fact since you took your NEWT early you could use that as your capstone project if you like… Was there something else?”

“Well, I also wanted to see if I could find some way to help with the research on his situation. The healers at St. Mungo’s said that part of the treatment depends on the interaction of the spells and protection, etc… that came together at the time. I wanted to know more about that and if there was anything I could do.”

The Professor nodded. “Well, I’m not sure exactly, but it’s certainly within your skill set to do some work in that area. I don’t see why you couldn’t be of assistance…. Why don’t you plan to come by this afternoon, if you have time.”

Jamie realized it was still only Monday which meant he had time that afternoon. His regularly scheduled quidditch practices were Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. He just realized he’d missed the last two and began to wonder what the team had done the last week. Rose had probably ensured that they’d gotten their practice in…

“Oh,” Jamie suddenly snapped back into the present, “That’d be great. I can be here by quarter past four, if that’s okay with you?”

“Of course.” Then the Professor looked at him, “I’ll see if I can connect with St. Mungo’s to see how we can help, too.” He paused for a moment, “And, Jamie, don’t be afraid to ask for any other help you need.”

Jamie nodded in response. He appreciated the consideration, but it also made him feel uncomfortable. It reminded him that things weren’t the way they were supposed to be.

 

\------^^^^-------

 

When Albus finally finished classes and his one-on-one with McGonagall, he returned to the Dungeon and collapsed in the Common Room. Carlos was already there doing some History of Magic reading.

“Hey.” Carlos looked at Albus, “You look shot. How’d everything go today?”

“Honestly, it was crap. I couldn’t concentrate on anything. My head feels like it’s going to explode. I don’t know how I’m going to study.” Albus covered his eyes with his hands hoping for some relief, but everything that was bothering him was coming from inside, not outside.

“Well, you know you can bunk with us, if you want. We’ve got plenty of room.” Yann and Carlos did have a particularly large room that would easily fit a third bunk. It had actually been a quad back in the day before the post-war renovations. That was when they’d expanded the dorm areas and everyone 5th year and up had doubles and only the 1st – 4th years shared quads.

Albus thought about it, and what it had felt like just walking into his and Scorpius’ room knowing that Scorpius wouldn’t be there, and not knowing when he would be. “Yeah, maybe I will.” He decided. “Wait… do either of you snore?”

“I think we’re good.” Carlos said. “Certainly nothing louder than the squid.” He looked at Albus, “So, you in?”

Albus nodded.

“Okay, well, let’s get Professor Williams, and we can probably transfigure your stuff and get it down to our room before we even have to go to dinner.” Carlos got up and slapped Albus on the shoulder before leading the way to their Head of House’s suite.

It took them less than a half hour to _reducio_ and _engorgio_ Albus’ bed, dresser and desk and move his clothing, books and supplies to the other room. As Albus stood looking into his half empty dorm room he started to feel his emotions getting the better of him when he felt Professor Williams’ hand on his shoulder.

“He’ll be back.” He said gently, “I’m sure of it.”

Albus nodded for what felt like the three-hundredth time that day and wiped away the tears which had started to escape from his eyes. The Professor turned him around so they were facing each other and took Albus’ head in his hands, “In the meantime, you and I can work on making sure that he’s completely ready to come back when he’s able, okay? He’ll need your help between now and then.”

“Yeah. I started getting his assignments, but…”

“Well, I think help is on the way there, because Professor Finch-Fletchley told me that he and Jamie were going to be working on some readers for Scorpius. My guess is they’ll have something hooked up by the end of the week. Your brother seems like the fairly determined type.”

“He is when he wants to be.” Albus laughed a little.

“Okay then,” Williams continued, “We should probably pull together the things Scorpius will need and make sure we get them ready for him. I have a feeling he’ll be spending a few weeks at the Manor recuperating before he can come back here… I’m sure you know what he’d like best.”

Albus looked around the room, and began to catalogue all the things Scorpius would need. He made note of his textbooks and his files and papers as well as a few other things he’d just want to have on hand.

“Okay. I can start pulling it all together after dinner.”

“Great. I can take some of it with me when I go back later this week.” Williams said.

Albus looked up at his Professor, “How’s Mr. Malfoy doing?” He asked.

“He’s doing okay, Albus. He’s worried and upset, just like you, but they’ll be okay. They’ve made it through some pretty rough stuff before.”

“Yeah.” Albus thought about it for a moment, and then realized what time it was. “Oh. I’d better go. I need to eat.”

Professor Williams laughed and let him head off for dinner.

 

\------^^^^------

 

When Albus got to dinner he slid in beside Yann, Carlos and Vi at the Slytherin table. Everything seemed to be going on just as always around the hall. Part way through dinner Rose and Phoebe came over and joined them when a space opened up.

“Hey.” Rose said, looking at Albus. “So, how’d your day go?”

Albus looked at her out of the side of his eye. For some reason, he was really annoyed by her presence and by Phoebe’s. He’d seen them both in classes earlier, and… He just couldn’t put his finger on it. He let out a big sigh.

“You know what, Rose.” Albus started. “You’re my cousin, so I’m just going to lay it on you straight. I’m getting really tired of telling people how I’m feeling. The truth is I feel pretty much like shite. My best friend could be blinded for life, and I have no idea when he’s coming back or if he’s coming back, and it’s all pretty much crap. So, that’s how I’m feeling and now that you know I’d really prefer not to talk about it over and over again.”

Rose looked at him and broke into a smile that was followed by peals of laughter. “Well, okay, then. You can officially consider me to be your ‘concern free zone.’ We can talk about anything you want other than how you’re feeling. I’m pretty crap at emotions anyway. So, this should work out perfectly for us.”

Albus felt himself relax for the first time all day. “Thank Merlin for that. You have no idea, Rose.” Then he looked at Phoebe, “Well, did Phoebe tell you how she nearly deafened me this afternoon?”

“Did not!” Phoebe objected stridently.

“She did. She nearly broke open a stasis we have going around a Harpy Gnat breeding field. Have you ever heard those things when they get trapped in your ears?”

“Albus is vastly overstating the situation. It was a little knock, that’s all.” She poked Albus in the ribs.

Albus rolled his eyes and was immensely thankful to be talking about something other than his feelings.

 

\------^^^^------

 

On Tuesday morning, Albus was on his way out of the Dungeon when Professor Williams caught him.

“Albus do you have a moment?”

“Sure, yeah.” Albus said, thinking about his schedule and his first period Potions class.

“Great, this won’t take long. Can you join me in my office?”

Albus nodded and followed the professor back into his suite, sitting opposite him in the armchairs by the fireplace.

“I have a proposition for you, and you don’t need to give me an answer right away, but I was wondering if you’d be interested in taking over as one of the Slytherin Prefects? As you know, Kris and Karl have been suspended from school, and Karl was one of our 5th year Prefects.”

Albus was staring blankly at his Head of House, wondering how this turn of events had come about. How was he suddenly Prefect material?

“I can see you’re a bit confused. I’m not exactly sure why Professor Mexborough selected Karl for the position, but he and Polly Chapman were her choice, and I didn’t see any reason to replace them when I took over for her last term. Now that I have the opportunity to choose, I’d like you for the position. I’ve spoken to McGonagall about it, and she’s on board with my decision.”

Albus felt compelled to response, “Well, thank you. I’m … I just hadn’t really thought of it. It was something… It wasn’t something that people like me did…”

Williams smiled, “Really? I think you’re an excellent candidate. You’ve shown sensitivity to your fellow students and leadership skills over the previous few months. I believe you’d be an asset to the House.” Then he stood. “Well, as I said, you don’t need to answer right away. I know you have a lot on your mind at the moment. I’ll check in with you later in the week or early next week?

Albus nodded, “Yes, that’d be good. I’d like to think about it a little and maybe talk with a couple of people.”

As they walked out of the suite and Albus continued to go to breakfast he turned again to his Professor and Head of House, “Thank you again. I really do appreciate it.”

 

\-----^^^^------

 

By Tuesday, Scorpius had already started to nail the hospital routine. In the morning his dad would come to make sure he was dressed in something presentable. After that he’d be escorted to breakfast which was a therapy session in itself as he learned how to eat while gently feeling out the location of the various containers and surfaces on the table. He was actually amazed at how quickly he was able to draw an image in his mind of where all the items were in relation to one another.

After breakfast he was escorted back to his room for examinations. Apparently, the healers were still working to determine the exact sequence of events and relative impact of the spells that might be causing his blindness. The “good news” was that there wasn’t anything wrong with the structure of his eyes. Whatever was preventing his vision was magical in nature, which meant it had the possibility of being undone.

Examinations were followed by reading time during which his father read to him, then lunch, then therapy after lunch. The therapy sessions were mainly focused on navigating large spaces like walking down the hallway or learning how to navigate steps and not trip over tables, etc… They’d provided him with a sensing wand which vibrated in his hand as it encountered objects in its path. It was similar to a cane, but without the length, so it was less obtrusive. Scorpius thought that was a nice way of saying that it was less likely to trip up oblivious bystanders.

It was after his afternoon session with the sensing wand on Tuesday that an owl arrived for him from Jamie. His dad opened it and read it to him.

_Dear Scorpius,_

_First, I have to assume that your father is reading this letter to you, and I’d feel rude if I didn’t say hello to him, as well. So, Hello, Mr. Malfoy. I hope you’re doing well._

_Now that I have that out of the way, I’ll get to my news. Professor Finch-Fletchley and I are working on a set of audio readers for you. In other words, if they give you something at the hospital assume it’s just temporary. We worked yesterday afternoon, and I have a pretty good idea of what I want to include in the ones I make for you. Even so, if you have any requests in terms of functionality or custom elements, let me know. We’ve also been in contact with the staff at St. Mungo’s, and I think they’re going to stop by to get some moulds of your hands so I can work on the the sensor. I’m tossing between some kind of fingertip mechanism or perhaps something like a ring. I also haven’t decided on the ear piece yet, either. (I realize as I write this that I must sound incredibly poorly organized, but I promise you I’m not. I’m just trying to think through what will work best and be something you like…) Anyway, thinking about the ear pieces… I’m torn between putting something together that uses “I might be a celebrity” style sunglasses or muggle ear-buds. Do you have a preference?_

Draco stopped and waited, but Scorpius didn’t respond, “Well, do you have a preference?” He asked.

“Oh, I didn’t realize we were making this an interactive letter reading.” Scorpius answered, “Well, I don’t know. What do you think?”

“I’m not sure. Would it be greedy to ask for both? I’m sure we could find at least one pair of sunglasses, but you might not want to always use the same pair… or even use sunglasses at all…”

“Why not?” Scorpius answered. “We Malfoys like to properly accessorize. I think Jamie should be used to that by now, or he needs to get used to it….Then again, if we’re going that route, maybe some diamond studs?”

Draco looked at his son and perked up an eyebrow. “You can’t tell, Scorpius, but I’m looking at you askance.”

“Too flashy? Perhaps pearls?” Scorpius offered with a smirk.

Draco gave a cough, “I think we should get back to Jamie’s letter. You can let him know what style of eye or ear-wear you’d prefer.”

As he read on he watched his son who was looking better and better by the day and was incredibly relieved to see him smiling.

He also had an idea or two of his own regarding Scorpius’ readers, and needed to remember to arrange to have some things sent to Jamie for his work.

 

\------^^^^-------

 

On Wednesday evening, Professor Williams came by St. Mungo’s with a stack of books and papers. While Draco went to consult with Scorpius’ night nurse Lin stayed and talked with Scorpius.

“I know you can’t read these on your own yet, but I thought your dad could help you out…. Albus, Rose and Carlos have been collecting your assignments so that you don’t fall too far behind.” Professor Williams started.

He sat down on the edge of Scorpius’ bed, took his hand and placed a long, narrow box in it.

“What is this?” Scorpius asked.

“Open it.”

Scorpius pulled the lid off the box and felt inside. It was a quill. Scorpius turned his face in Professor Williams’ direction.

“It’s a charmed writing quill. It will write as you speak. You just need to start it off on the top left of the page.”

“Thanks… Really…” Scorpius felt it in his hand, then he reached out to find something to write on. He thought there were some sheets of paper on the edge of his bed. He pulled one toward him and whispered something to the quill, then held the paper up for his Professor.

Thank you, Professor Williams.

“Did it work?”

“I’m not sure… what did you intend it to say?” Professor Williams answered.

“You tell me…” Scorpius responded, realizing they were now playing some kind of game.

“The food here tastes like elf puke?”

“No….”

“Help, me. My therapist smells like flobberworms?”

“No….” Scorpius was starting laugh, wondering what was coming next.

“Watch out, I think my dad has the hots for the night nurse?” He said, spotting Draco approaching out of the corner of his eye.

“No… Ugh… Please!” Scorpius begged between his laughter.

“What are you two on about?” Draco asked, walking up and putting his hand on the small of Lin’s back. “I’ll have you know that the night nurse is very nice, and if you don’t behave yourself you might find I do trade you in.” Lin laughed silently and shook his head at Draco while he played at silencing him by placing his finger across Draco’s lips.

“Ugh… You two. Just because I can’t see doesn’t mean you can paw each other in front of me. Observe some decorum, please” Scorpius laughed.

Lin turned and looked at Scorpius, wondering exactly what he thought he was doing with his father. Then he had an idea.

“Scorpius, can you come with me for a moment?”

“I guess so. Where are we going?”

“I just want to see about something…. It’s a weird hunch, but…”

Scorpius shrugged his shoulders. “Sure, what else do I have to do?”

As they walked, Draco looked at Lin with a questioning face and Lin gave him an “indulge me” look. Finally, they arrived at a waiting area on a floor Lin was fairly sure they hadn’t been on before. He looked at Draco “Have you been here before?”

“No” Draco answered.

“Scorpius, we’re on the fifth floor, do you know if you’ve been here before?”

“I don’t think so,” Scorpius answered, “but I can’t be sure.”

“Okay, well, we’ll assume it’s new to you.” Lin positioned Scorpius in the middle of the room. “Tell me what you think is in this room.”

“You’re kidding me, right?” Scorpius gave him an expression that conveyed his serious doubt about this request.

“Just try… Like I said, just a hunch.”

“Okay, then.” Scorpius closed his eyes and imagined what the room might hold. He turned in a circle and tried to imagine feeling the space. Almost like he had done when he envisioned spells in the past, feeling the spell in the space. He let his mind slowly scan the area, feeling for surfaces as if there was a giant blanket of some kind covering all the objects around him.

“Okay,” He finally said, “Here goes.” He turned to his right, “There’s a row of chairs along this wall, I think. Then a door or window in the wall over there…. Something open… then there’s a bookcase with something in front of it. Small, like a pillow… Then a table over here and something tall, like a coat rack or a large plant. Then you.” He completed the circle.

Draco stood looking at Lin who had his head cocked in interest. “Not exactly, but you got some things generally… Those chairs are a sofa, and the pillow is a stuffed animal, and the coat rack is a lamp. It’s a door, not a window, but I think that’s what you thought, and there are a couple of things you missed….”

“Do you think he can see it?” Draco asked.

“No. You saw him. His eyes were closed. I think he can feel it.”

“How’s that happening?” Draco asked.

“It’s the wandless magic.” Scorpius answered. “I used something the same… the way I felt for it was the same.”

“I doubt it would ever really be a substitute for sight, but it could be pretty useful. If you practice it might really help your mobility.” Lin suggested. “Plus, once you get your sight back you can use the skill to sneak up on people in the dark.”

“And how often do you imagine he’ll need to do that?” Draco asked, eyebrow raised.

“You never know.” Lin laughed.

 

\------^^^^------

 

Thursday at dinner, Albus looked over at his brother picking through his food and thought he looked like he hadn’t been getting much sleep. He’d barely caught sight of Jamie over the past few days, only having seen him buzzing through the library on Tuesday looking like some kind of demon was chasing him through the stacks. He decided he’d try to catch him for a couple of minutes now, and wandered over to the Gryffindor table to get his attention.

“Oh, hi Albus.” Jamie looked up as Albus put his hand on Jamie’s shoulder.

“Hey.” Albus slid in to the space Ben made on the seat between himself and Jamie. “Um… Do you have a minute?”

“Sure, I guess so. I wanted to get back to something, but...”

Albus looked at his brother with a feeling of irritation. What could he be so busy with? Studying? How was he even studying knowing that Scorpius was stuck in that hospital with only his dad to keep him company? “Okay, well, Williams asked me if I would be Prefect to replace Karl, and I wanted to ask you what you thought.”

Jamie looked at Albus, and wondered why Albus cared what he thought. “I don’t know. It’s mostly just a bunch of babysitting, that is if you actually do the job, but…” then he looked at his brother, “Sure, if you want to, you should do it. Why not?”

“Merlin, Jamie, you don’t have to be so flip about it. I just wanted your advice. I never expected, and with…” Then he stopped because he didn’t really want to say the next words out loud ‘with Scorpius gone you’re one of the only people I can talk to…’

When Jamie looked up Albus saw why Jamie’d been so absent lately. He was worried and lonely. It was written all over his face. He missed Scorpius and was just trying to do his best. Jamie suddenly shook his head and grabbed Albus by the elbow. “You’re right. I’m being kind of a git. You should do it. I’m sure it would help Williams out a lot to have someone he wants. In the meantime, I’ve got something I need your help with. Can you come?”

“Now?”

“Sure, unless you’ve got something more urgent to do?”

“Well… I’m supposed to be meeting Yann to go over some potions work. Can you wait a moment, and I’ll let him know I’ll be late?”

“Sure, actually, just meet me in the Room of Requirement in fifteen. Will that be okay?”

“Sure.”

 

\-------^^^^------

 

It took Albus a little longer to get up to the room than he expected, and when he got there he found Jamie working in the lab, which had been adjusted to accommodate a workshop area. Jamie was bent over a table fiddling with a bunch of bits and pieces including what looked like a couple of rubber gloves, a few different pairs of glasses, and some Bertie Botts Beans.

“Hey, I’m sorry I’m late.”

“No, don’t worry. Come on over here.” Jamie held up a hand and waived Albus over while continuing to work on whatever he was doing with his other hand.

When Albus drew closer he saw that Jamie was working over plans he’d sketched out on parchment, with a number of spells and charms listed alongside. “What is this?” Albus asked.

“I’m working on making some readers for Scorpius, so that he can read books and things… Or rather, so that he can hear what the books and papers say… Here, try this and you’ll see what I mean.”

Then Jamie pulled one of the rubber gloves over Albus’ hands, and put a pair of the glasses on him and pulled a book over.

“Here, hold your hand over the page and whisper _lectare_ ”

Albus did as he was told, and a voice began reading the words of the page into his ear through the stems of the glasses.

“It works! Did you do this?” Albus looked around “You did this…” He looked at Jamie and was filled with the most amazing feeling of surprise. They were so cool, and it was even more impressive that Jamie had done this.

“Not just me. I got some help from Professor Finch-Fletchley.” Jamie pulled over a piece of paper and wrote on it, then had Albus try again.

“And, I’ve been working on some ideas… try this.”

Albus held the glove over the paper and whispered “ _lectare_.” He heard Jamie’s voice.

“How’d it do that?”

“Well, for things written by hand… it knows the origin of the writer. So, if you know the voice, it can sound like the person who wrote the document. It only works for handwriting though, if you are reading something printed it just sounds like a generic voice you’d like or expect for that subject matter.”

“Anyway,” Jamie continued, “the reason I wanted your help was for a couple of things. First, I’m wondering if there are any other features we could add that Scorp would like, and second I just wanted your opinion on the glasses and/or ear buds, etc…”

Albus began looking at the various items strewn across the work table, trying to imagine which Scorpius would like best or find most practical.

“Oh, and there are these.” Jamie said while opening up a padded leather envelope to reveal three rings.

“Where’d those come from?” Albus asked, not sure if he should pick up any of the rings he was looking at. They all looked rare and expensive sitting on a field of soft blue velvet.

“Mr. Malfoy sent them… I wrote Scorpius after I talked with Professor Finch-Fletchley to ask about what he might like, and Mr. Malfoy sent these. I think he was kind of excited about the idea.” Jamie picked one up that was a fairly simple silver band with an opal stone. “I think I kind of like this one.”

“Me, too, but you know who I think we should ask about this?” Albus said as he looked at the other two rings, one with a light blue stone he couldn’t identify and another with a smooth green stone he thought could be an emerald.

“Who?” Jamie wondered.

“I think Carlos might have an idea…” Albus suggested, “It’s just a hunch, but it seems like this kind of thing might be right up his alley.”

 

\-------^^^^--------

 

“Albus… are you there?” Phoebe was watching Albus drift off again. He’d been doing it on and off all week. She knew he was having trouble getting back in the swing of things after everything that happened the previous week, and she was a little bit worried.

“Albus?” She tried again, and he finally turned his attention her way, “I was asking if you wanted to go into Hogsmeade with me tomorrow for dinner?”

“Oh.” Albus looked at her realizing he’d completely forgotten to tell her he wasn’t going to be at school that weekend. “I… I’m so sorry… I’m going home over the weekend, or actually Jamie and I are going to see Scorpius this weekend. They’re letting him leave the hospital on Saturday.”

“Oh,” Phoebe hoped she didn’t look disappointed, but she’d been hoping they could spend some time together. It was probably just the stress of everything, but Albus had seemed so remote and distracted lately… She pulled her thoughts back to the good news, “That’s good news, right? He’s doing better?” She asked, hopefully.

“I don’t know, actually, but at least they feel like he can go home.”

Phoebe put her hand on his, “It’s something, at least, and I’m sure it will be better for him to be at home rather than cooped up in the hospital. When do you leave?”

“I’m leaving before dinner today and then Jamie’s coming tomorrow after the match.”

“Well, we better finish up so that you can go pack.” She said and then turned their attention toward the charts they needed to complete for their Harpy Gnat breeding experiment.

 

\------^^^^------

 

When Albus got to Scorpius’ hospital room he and his dad were just getting started with dinner. The house elves at the Manor had cooked up a picnic for Mr. Malfoy to bring that evening.

“Come on in Albus, join us.” Mr. Malfoy invited him as he reached the door of the room.

“Hey!” Scorpius said, nearly jumping out of his bed in excitement.

Albus hurried over and gave Scorpius a big hug. “I am so glad to see you. It is not the same without you at school… at all.”

“Oh… Anything in particular?”

Then Albus launched into his stories of how he was already regretting agreeing to room with Yann and Carlos because even though he thought he’d be lonely he hadn’t anticipated how difficult it would be to adjust to someone else’s habits. Yann was distressingly concerned about his appearance and needed a lot of input about what he was wearing, even though you would never know it by looking at him. Carlos had the most annoying habit of tapping his foot against the end of his bed while he read. Albus realized it seemed petty, but he was used to just the sounds that Scorpius made, and everything different just distracted him. It had gotten so bad he’d taken to studying in the Common Room.

Scorpius too his turn telling Albus about all of the goings on at the hospital; the nurse who he was fairly sure had a thing for his healer because she just always happened to be in Scorpius’ room when he made his rounds and complimented him on the tiniest things; the old man who was deliberately and secretly sabotaging his therapist; and the fact that his occupational therapist seemed to be very interested in what his father had to say about nearly everything. Draco dismissed that particular observation, but Albus noticed he didn’t flat out deny it either. In fact, Albus thought he looked a little flattered at the attention.

Eventually, Draco bid his good evening to the two because Albus was going to stay over that night and then help with moving all of Scorpius’ things back to the Manor tomorrow when Jamie arrived and took his turn.

“I’ll see both of you in the morning with breakfast.” Draco promised.

“Hot chocolate and croissants?” Scorpius hoped.

“I’m sure. Has Estie let you down yet?”

Scorpius smiled, “No, not one day. I’m going to get so fat living at the Manor.”

“Well have to see about that…. In any case, have a good night and don’t stay up too late.”

“We won’t. Thanks again for dinner, Mr. Malfoy.” Albus chimed in.

And, in a moment, it was just the two of them in the room. Albus threw his things onto the bed Mr. Malfoy had transfigured from a chair before leaving, and turned to Scorpius.

“So, how’s everything going, really?” He asked.

“Okay. It’s actually really tiring having to learn how to do everything all over again. I have to think about the simplest things… I’m starting to worry about school, too.”

“Your OWLs?”

“Yeah. I don’t know how I’m going to manage them all, especially some of them that have practicals. I don’t want to fall so far behind… Then there’s this summer. I have no idea what’s going to happen. I was going to go up to that dig in Scotland, but that seems… unlikely now.”

“Don’t say that. Things could still change before summer.”

“They could, but the longer it goes….” Scorpius didn’t want to say that he was giving up hope, but the longer it went the more he was starting to think this might be permanent, that he might have to get used to having a life that was completely different from what he’d planned.

Albus sat close to his friend and took his hands, “Are you scared?... I mean you don’t have to say, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I’m scared for you….”

“Yes and no. I mean, it’s just so big that I hardly know how to think about it… then I think about my dad and that kind of makes me feel sad because I know he’s worried and gets upset.”

“I’m sure. I mean, I remember how worried he was when we had ‘the incident’, and now this. I hope he doesn’t go bonkers and lock you away.”

“I actually think he’ll be okay.” Scorpius considered, “It seems like Professor Williams kind of helps with that. He helps him from winding up too tight, I think.”

Scorpius continued, “You know, Professor Williams and I discovered something the other day…. About me.”

“What’s that?” Albus asked.

“Well, it turns out that the same abilities that help me do wandless magic also help me kind of ‘see’ without seeing.”

“Like you can see me now?” Albus wasn’t sure what Scorpius was saying.

“No, more like I can sense shapes and forms in space… and movement.” Scorpius explained, “But right now I can only really do it if I really concentrate. Then I can kind of feel what’s around me and if things move around in the space… but it’s not super useful.”

“Do you think you could get better at it?” Albus wondered.

“I might be able to. I kind of think I could… I think I’d like to see what I can do.”

Albus shook his head and started to laugh. “You’re amazing… maybe a little insane… but kind of amazing.”

“How’s that?”

“Even with this, you’re thinking about how you can learn something new.” Then Albus gave his friend another big hug. “You know, you are going to love the readers Jamie pulled together for you. In less than 24 hours you’re going to be able to read all the books you could possibly want.”


	19. Going Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jamie and Albus take time off the weekend to help Scorpius move from the hospital to the Manor... and a couple more facts come to light about the incident outside Hogsmeade and the investigation.

Jamie was doubled over and panting, his hand still gripping the snitch. Every muscle in his body was on fire. He felt great.

He gulped in deep chunks of air and felt the slaps of his teammates. He turned and saw Rose, beaming at him and held the snitch out at her, nodding and smiling back. Then he turned and tossed the snitch to Professor Ghazali, the Quidditch sponsor, and took off for the showers. If he made it quick he could shower, grab something from the Great Hall for lunch, and get to St. Mungo’s before Scorp was released that afternoon.

As he washed up he replayed the match in his mind. Rose was on fire that afternoon, scoring like a madwoman and flying like she was the wind itself. She and Ben were both fantastic, and Ellen… nothing got past her. If anyone on their team was going pro, it was McIntyre. She was a wall in goal. He took a deep breath and hoped that the match was an indication of how the rest of the day would go.

He toweled off and threw on his clothes, calling out congratulations to everyone and feeling a tiny pang of regret that he wasn’t going to be able to join them him Hogsmeade for the celebration this afternoon. It was going to be a killer. They hadn’t been expected to beat the Ravenclaw team, and it meant they had increased their chances of winning the cup this year by a good measure.

“Say ‘Hi’ to Scorpius for me.” Rose called as he tossed his dirty robes and towels in the bin for the elves to clean. “You know we’re all pulling for him… and if there’s anything we can do…”

“I know Rose. I’m just excited that he’s getting out today, and I know he’s had his fill of the hospital. Even though he’s tried to sound upbeat in his letters, I can tell he’s ready to climb the walls.”

“He’s writing to you?” Rose looked confused.

“Williams gave him an automatic writing quill.” Jamie smiled.

“I see.” Rose said… “So…” She looked in his face for confirmation of what she was thinking.

“Yup… He and Mr. Malfoy…”

She shook her head in amusement. “I guess love is in the air.”

“For you, too?” He wondered if she was going to confirm everyone’s suspicions and admit that she and Vi were more than just ‘good friends.’

Rose just smiled and said “Wait and see.”

“Rose…” Jamie started, and then wasn’t sure if he should continue. Rose was a bossy know-it-all, but she was also very circumspect when it came to her feelings. He shook his head, “Just, have fun this afternoon and say “hi” to Vi for me.” He smiled and gave her a hug, suddenly overwhelmed by the feeling of hoping she was happy… or, at least as happy as he was. He could not wait to see Scorp.

When he got to the Great Hall it was buzzing with activity as students were clearing out for the afternoon. He grabbed a sandwich, noticed the new bottles of pumpkin juice and decided he’d better not, and tossed the sandwich into his bag. When he looked to check the sandwich wasn’t going to get crushed by books, he saw the package with Scorp’s readers. He hoped he would like them. In the end he picked out three options for him for the ear pieces, knowing that Scorpius would probably like to have choices.

He looked around the hall and saw Carlos, smiled and waived. Carlos and Yann waived back and mimed and mouthed “Tell Scorpius we said “hi” from across the room.”

He was just about to go when he felt a tap on the back of his shoulder. He turned to see Aishah.

“Hey, what’s up?” He asked. “I was just about to go. Scorp’s getting out of hospital today.”

“I know. I just wanted to make sure you saw this.” She handed him a copy of _The_   _Prophet_.

“What’s this?”

“I circled a couple of articles you might find interesting… Don’t think you need to read them right now, but check them out later. We can chat about it when you get back.”

He nodded and stuffed the paper into the bag which was now filled to the gills with his books, parchment, clothing, toiletries, sandwich, and Scorp’s readers. He really should have put an extender charm on his bag.

“Thanks, Aishah. I’ll check it out… Gotta’ run now, though.”

She patted him on the shoulder, “Well, get going, then.”

In five minutes he was in McGonagall’s office and tossing powder into the hearth to floo to St. Mungo’s.

 

\------^^^^-------

 

Jamie stumbled out of the floo and into the receiving area at the hospital. It was so much different than the last time. Suddenly he was breaking out into a sweat and needed to sit down. He couldn’t see Scorp like this. He needed to be his best, to be positive for him, and not to be thinking about that night. He took a few deep breaths, shoved the images and sounds of that evening back out of his mind and rose again, ready to go.

“Scorpius Malfoy.” He gave Scorp’s name at the desk, unsure if Scorp had been moved when he was transferred to the rehabilitation unit.

“Yes, he’s in 305” the attendant informed him and pointed off to the right. Jamie was relieved to see it was in the opposite direction of the healing theater and the room he’d been in before.

He hopped up the stairs, two at a time, until he reached the 3rd floor. Once he got there, he didn’t have any trouble finding the room because he could hear Albus and Scorpius’ laughter all the way down the hall.

When hit 305 he swung around the doorframe and poked his head in. “Care to clue me in on the joke?” he asked, now looking at his boyfriend and brother laughing their heads off as they packed up Scorp’s things.

“Albus is imagining things.”

“I am not! I am telling you, there is not one orderly, nurse or therapist in this hospital that hasn’t stopped by to wish you well…. You’re like some kind of healer catnip.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Scorp was blushing, clearly aware that he was, in fact, among the more popular patients in the hospital.

“Of course you are.” Jamie said as he walked over toward Scorpius who held out his hand, looking for Jamie. Jamie took it and leaned in for a kiss. He could hardly believe how great Scorpius’ lips tasted, how warm he was. “You’re hot and kind… and you’re not an eighty year old wizard with hair growing out of your ears.” He completed his thought when he finally broke away from Scorp’s lips.

“I rest my case.” Albus said.

Jamie looked around the room. “Where’s your dad?”

“He’s arranging for the release. From the sounds of things, there’s twenty yards of parchment for him to complete.” Scorpius answered, and then faced Jamie with an expectant looking face “So… how’d the match go today?”

“Great.” Jamie could feel the excitement in his chest, just thinking back to the game earlier, “We won… I caught the snitch.”

“That’s amazing! You needed that win against Ravenclaw. This sets you up for the cup, doesn’t it?” Scorpius enthused, but Jamie wondered if there wasn’t a hint of something else there.

“Yeah. Definitely makes a difference. Rose was terrific too, and afterward she almost… just nearly… came clean about her and Vi.”

“You think she’s actually going to say anything out loud before they’re married?” Albus chimed in “I mean, she’s the type to not say anything and then one day she invites you over for dinner, you show up and there’s Vi, and Rose is looking at you and saying something like ‘Didn’t I tell you? We’ve been living together for a year and a half.’” He rambled as he pulled together the last few things he noticed around the room, perfectly explaining the path of action their cousin was actually most likely to take.

Scorpius laughed. “I could absolutely see that happening.” He continued the idea, “Then, one day she’d come back from vacation and they’d have been married… then you get a call saying, ‘oh, by the way, we just had a child…’”

When Albus turned back toward Scorpius he watched Jamie brush Scorp’s hair out of his face, and the way he looked at Scorpius, and an unpleasant thought gnawed at him. It was a feeling that’d been hanging around in his mind for a little while, if he was completely honest, but had been growing over the last week. He didn’t really want to think about it right now, though, since he was here to spend time with Scorpius, and they only had a few hours left before he had to get back to Hogwarts.

“All right then.” Mr. Malfoy announced, breaking in to Albus’ thoughts. “It looks like we are all set, so let’s go home.”

Scorpius laced his fingers with Jamie’s and turned toward his father. “You lead the way.”

When they emerged from the floo at the Manor Professor Williams was already there waiting for them. He pulled Draco into a warm embrace and then turned to Scorpius, Albus and Jamie. “You hungry? Estie and Doxie have been more than excited about your return, and have quite a spread ready.”

“Oh,” Jamie said, “I grabbed a sandwich on my way over, but…” he looked in his bag, “It might be a bit worse for wear now.”

“Well,” Scorpius broke in, “I’m starving, and I’m sure Albus is too. It’s been a long day.”

Before handing his bag over to Doxie, Jamie pulled out the package containing Scorpius’ readers.

“I hope it’s not some sort of major ‘late lunch’ faux-pas, but I can’t wait any longer” Jamie started as they sat down at the table, “I was able to get the readers I mentioned working.” Jamie said as a not very subtle grin spread across his face. He couldn’t help it, he was incredibly pleased with how they’d turned out.

Scorpius was excited, too, and was literally bouncing in his seat, wanting to try them out. “Well, let’s see them, then. Show me.”

Jamie pulled out the ring and placed it around Scorpius’ left index finger. It was a little loose, but Jamie could easily charm it to fit properly.

“This is the reader part, you just place this over the page or document you’re reading…. When you read, you’ll want to slide it so that the gem…” Jamie held his hand and twisted the ring, ‘is toward the page. Then, when you’re not reading anything you can slip it back around so that the gem’s on the outside of your finger.”

“What’s it look like?” Scorpius asked.

“It’s an opal set in a silver band. It’s a little art-nouveau. Your dad found it.” Jamie answered.

“It belonged to a Swiss wizard, Gerhard Marolf, whose estate we handled. He had an extraordinary library, and opals are known to be linked to psychic and mental clarity… It seemed like a good choice.” Draco explained.

“Carlos took a look at it too, and he liked it best. He thought it would suit you.” Albus said.

“Best?” Scorpius asked.

“Your dad sent three.” Albus explained.

“Oh, well, what did the others look like?” Scorpius wondered.

“Aren’t we getting off track?” Draco broke in.

“Maybe, but if there were options.” Scorpius mused.

“If you really want to broaden your accessories, I’m happy to charm the others, but I assumed your dad wanted us to choose one.” Jamie nudged him. “Anyway, let’s move on to the audio side of things… You do have some variety there.”

“Oh, good.” Scorpius smiled.

“Right, So I hooked up three options for now. There are two sets of speakers that are set up in pairs of glasses. One is sunglasses… Classic Ray Bans because I thought you’d appreciate them… So, those are just in case that’s what you’re in the mood for, and the other is a regular pair of glasses… They’re kind of book-ish looking horned-rims.” Jamie didn’t say it out loud, but he personally thought they’d give Scorpius a bit of the ‘sexy librarian’ look. He continued, “Then there’s also a pair of “ear buds” …like the things muggles wear with their music devices.”

“Okay…Why don’t we try the regular glasses, then.” Scorpius decided.

Jamie pulled the pair out and slipped them over Scorpius’ face and ears and felt a tinge of heat as he saw the fruits of his labor… They were definitely ‘sexy librarian.’

Draco passed Scorpius a book.

Now, all you have to do is activate the set by saying “ _lectare_.” That will start the process.

He passed his hand over the page of the book and spoke the word, “ _lectare_.” You could just hear the sound of a voice being directed into Scorpius’ ears, and Scorpius began smiling.

“It works.” He was glowing. “It’s reading it.”

“Right, and you can get it to stop and start at specific locations by just double tapping the ring,” Jamie beamed. “And, there’s more. Is there any parchment around?”

Draco nodded and jumped up, returning in a moment with a handful of parchment and some quills.

“Okay, everyone write a message for Scorpius.” Draco, Lin, Albus and Scorpius all scribbled something on the sheets and Jamie collected them and set them in front of Scorpius.

“Okay, now try with these.” He directed Scorpius and watched as Scorpius’ face lit up.

“I can hear you… each of you. How’s that work?”

“The ring’s charmed to know if you’ve met the person who wrote the document. So, if you’ve know them it will read in that person’s voice.” Jamie explained.

“That’s so cool. So, when I read your letters it will sound like you’re talking to me.”

“That’s the idea.” Jamie enthused.

“Oh, that’s fantastic.” He was nearly vibrating with excitement. “These are great. If I wasn’t completely starving, I’d skip lunch and make a beeline for the library.”

“I had a feeling I’d lose you to the books this afternoon.” Jamie laughed, “So, I brought a bunch of reading of my own. I have a mountain of work to do on my NEWTS, and I’m sure you have a list a mile long of things you want to work on.”

“In the meantime,” Albus broke in, “Shall we eat all this food Estie and Doxie prepared? I don’t mean to be a spoil sport, but I’m really getting hungry. Once I leave here I won’t get anything until dinner back at Hogwarts, and this REALLY looks good.”

“Of course, let’s eat.” Draco agreed, looking at Lin with an expression that Jamie noticed might be saying something like ‘there’s something we need to talk about.’ Jamie wondered what that might be.

 

\------^^^^------

 

After Albus said his goodbyes and flooed back to Hogwarts, Scorpius and Jamie spent the afternoon hanging out in the Green Salon, enjoying the afternoon sunlight and reading. Aside from a few moments when Scorpius asked for help retrieving a book or a quill, it could have been any weekend afternoon spent reading and studying.

Eventually, Jamie needed a break and decided to take a little stroll around the manor. There was only so much defense theory he could cram into one Saturday afternoon. He took off without any particular destination in mind and found himself wandering down the hallway toward the library and Mr. Malfoy’s study. He could hear Mr. Malfoy and Professor Williams talking. They were having a somewhat animated conversation, and it sounded like it was with a third person. Remembering the look they’d given one another earlier that afternoon, Jamie decided to wander a little closer to see if he could make out what they were saying.

“What are you saying?” He could hear Mr. Malfoy, who sounded upset.

There was a response he couldn’t hear very well, and he moved a little closer to the doorway.

“Who do you have on this?” Professor Williams asked.

“Theodore Nott’s been assigned.” He could hear the voice clear enough now that he recognized it. It was his dad. “He’s the best curse breaker we have, and as you know, Draco, he has direct experience that would be helpful.”

Mr. Malfoy made some kind of grunt that didn’t sound happy.

“Any further details on what held up the Auror response?” Professor Williams asked.

“I’m really not able to discuss that. We have an internal investigation going.” Jamie heard his dad say.

He heard someone get up and start to pace, and he had to assume that was Mr. Malfoy. He moved a bit, hoping he wouldn’t be seen.

“Tell me you at least got something from the suspects you were able to apprehend.” That was Professor Williams again.

“Bits and pieces, but whoever is behind this is very skilled at mental manipulation. There’s quite a lot of haze and misdirection woven in with their memories.”

“Well, I’m coming down tomorrow afternoon. My office is eager for some more solid intelligence, and you know Cooper’s looking for more. You need more eyes on this.” Professor Williams said. Jamie knew Williams didn’t have authority over his dad, but he was impressed with the way he skillfully put him on a shorter leash. He knew his dad, though, and knew he wouldn’t like anyone second guessing him.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, then… I’m sorry, I’m going to have to wrap things up. I’ve got someone waiting for me, and I can’t…”

“I understand. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Williams finished.

Then it was wrapped up. Jamie backed down the hallway and was just about in the clear when the door opened. He quickly had to reverse course when the door to the study swung open.

“Jamie.” Mr. Malfoy said, looking at him a little suspiciously, “Can we help you?”

“Actually,” Jamie quickly scanned his mind for plausible excuses, “I was wondering… if it’s okay… if I could borrow Professor Williams for a moment. I have a couple of questions about defense theory…” He hoped the excuse worked and waited for the response.

“Of course. What is it?” Williams asked.

“Oh… Do you have time now?” Jamie said, trying to sound natural, “I… Just let me grab my book.”

“Sure, I’ll meet you in the library.” He answered motioning to the room next to the study.

While Jamie ran off to get his book Draco and Lin looked at each other with a shake of the head, knowing full well that Jamie had no doubt overheard something of their conversation with Harry. They were fairly certain he wouldn’t repeat it to anyone other than Scorpius, but Lin knew it was going to be on him to try to steer Jamie’s interest in a productive direction.

 

\------^^^^-------

 

By the time the evening came to a close, Jamie was exhausted with the effort of trying to make a decent impression on Mr. Malfoy. While Scorpius had been in hospital he just hadn’t worried about it much, but now he was on Scorpius’ dad’s home turf where it was just the four of them. Jamie definitely felt under the microscope. When he and Scorpius bid their good nights, Mr. Malfoy gave him a pointed "If you know what’s good for you, you won’t get up to anything untoward” look.

Jamie let Scorpius guide the way to the bedrooms, walking beside him as a safeguard. He noticed Scorp was becoming really skilled at using the detection wand. Scorpius held it in a way that was hardly noticeable, and Jamie guessed that he also had a pretty good sense of how to get around in the Manor. As far as he knew, Scorp had slept in the same room for all of his 16 years so far.

When they reached Scorp’s room, Scorpius turned to Jamie, “Get your pajamas on and come back. I’m not ready to go to be yet.”

“But… your dad.. he seemed.”

“Don’t worry about him. First, his bark is worse than his bite. Second, he doesn’t really want to babysit us, he’s got Professor Williams over, and third, we can’t get in too much trouble for just hanging around and talking.”

Jamie laughed and stepped close to Scorpius, who reached out and trailed his fingers from Jamie’s wrist and up his forearm. He followed Jamie’s breath and turned his head so that his lips were close to Jamie’s, and waited for Jamie to close the gap.

“You know, I’m not sure I’m going to be very good at sticking to talking.” Jamie felt Scorpius’ lips curl into a little smile under his.

“Well, we’ll just have to see how it goes.”

Jamie dropped Scorpius in his room and bolted for the door to the next room where he was staying. It was possible that he’d never changed and readied himself for bed quite so quickly, but within 5 minutes he was back in Scorpius’ room, waiting for Scorpius to finish getting ready for bed.

“You always take this long?” Jamie asked, slightly joking.

“I’m not taking long, but you know, I have to sort out where everything goes.... I’m going to have to put everything in a place I can remember.”

“Oh.” Jamie answered, worried he’d said something wrong.

“Hey.” Scorpius said, turning toward Jamie, “Don’t be like that. You weren’t thinking.”

“But, isn’t that it? I’m going to forget, and you’re… you can’t.”

Scorpius walked back into the bedroom. “I think we’re going to have to have some rules, or something.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I don’t think I can take it if you decide you have to pity me.” Scorpius said.

Jamie could tell he was trying to sound tough, but he could also hear a kind of thinness to Scorp’s voice, like he was worried Jamie wasn’t going to want to put up with him if he wasn’t tough and strong.

Jamie took a deep breath and steadied himself. “Okay… I won’t pity you, but you have to agree to something, too. You can’t pretend nothing’s wrong or that you aren’t upset or bothered about things when you are.”

“Okay.”

“And…”

“There’s more?”

“Yes, little Slytherin, there is.”

“Okay.”

“You have to let me know when you need help. I’ll try not to overstep, but you need to let me help. Same goes for everyone else. You need to get and accept help when you need it.”

“Okay, that’s fair. You try not to do your Gryffindors-save-the-day crap, and I’ll try not to do my Slytherins-can-do-it-best-ourselves thing… at least not too much.”

Scorpius moved like he was looking around the room and turned toward Jamie. “Well, now that we have that out of the way, why don’t you tell me how things are going. I mean really. All the things you couldn’t tell me in the letters my father had to read.”

Jamie took Scorpius’ hand and guided him over to the love seat by the window. Scorpius curled his legs up against one of the stuffed arms and leaned back against Jamie as Jamie began to relay all the things that had gone on at Hogwarts that week; how the Jenkins brothers had both been suspended and the fact that the pay-off scheme seemed to have been hushed up… As Jamie was recounting everything he remembered the _Prophet_ Aishah had given him that afternoon.

“Oh, there is something else… Something Aisha asked me to look at.” Jamie said. “I’m just going to grab it out of my bag.”

As Jamie started out of the room Scorpius asked, “Do you want hot chocolate? It’s not very cold outside, but I’m suddenly in the mood.”

“When are you ever not in the mood for hot chocolate?” Jamie laughed.

“True… I’ll get the elves to bring some up.”

Jamie returned with the paper Aisha gave him that afternoon and opened it up to scan for the articles she said she’d marked. There were actually two newspapers in the bundle.

“Hey, there are actually two here. _The Prophet_ and _The Press and Journal_ … it’s a muggle paper from Aberdeen.” He flipped through the newsprint, talking as he looked. “She said she’d marked some things …” He was searching the pages, “There must be… Oh, here it is.”

“This one’s in _The Prophet,_   _Glynis Mexborough reported missing…. The family of Hogwarts Potions Professor Glynis Mexborough reported her missing this week…. She had been on leave from the school to care for her mother in Northumberland, and had been expected back at her home over a week ago… Unlcear when she went missing_ ….”

“What do you make of that?” Scorpius said.

“I’m not sure, but isn’t Professor Mexborough related to Kris and Karl Jenkins?” Jamie asked.

“Yeah, her mum is their grandmother’s sister, or something like that.. Isn’t she?”

“Huh…” Jamie raised his eyebrows. “Well, let’s see what else she has here.” He continued flipping through the papers, and was scanning through the international section when Doxie came in with a tray of hot chocolate and biscuits.

“Master Scorpius, where would you like these?” He asked.

“Oh, how about on the table next to Jamie?” He suggested, and Doxie moved to set up the service.

“Will that be all for this evening?”

“Yes, I think so. You have a nice evening, and wish Estie good night for me, as well.”

“I will. Thank you master. It’s nice to have you at home.”

“It’s very nice to be home, Doxie. Really, very nice…”

Jamie looked up and Doxie was walking over to Scorpius and reaching for his hand. “Please let us know if there’s anything you need.” Doxie said to Scorpius, now patting his hand gently.

“I will. Jamie’s made me promise to ask for help when I need it, and I’m sure that includes asking you. Maybe tomorrow, after Jamie’s left we can go through how I’ll need my room set up?”

“Yes, just give word, and we’ll be here.”

“Thank you, again… for everything.”

“Good night Master Scorpius. Master Jamie.”

“Good night, Doxie.” Jamie said as the elf left them to their hot chocolate and Ginger Nuts.

“They really like you.” Jamie remarked, looking at Scorpius and moving the table in front of them where Scorpius could find the treats on his own.

“I really like them, too…. When it was just my dad and me… and my mum was sick….” He was silent for a moment, slipping into the memory before he finished, “They’re very kind.”

Jamie curled his hand around Scorpius’ right hand, noticing how smooth the new skin was, fresh and unworn. On Scorpius’ face it was less obvious, but on his hand, where there should have been callouses from gripping the broom while flying, there was nothing. His skin was smooth again. Jamie brought Scorpius’ hand up to his mouth and kissed his palm, letting his lips brush against the soft surface.

“Strange, isn’t it?” Scorpius asked.

“Yeah, but also beautiful.” He answered, brushing the surface of Scorpius’ palm with his thumb. “And a miracle… I don’t know how much you remember, but…” Jamie blinked hard, trying to hold back the emotion that he’d pushed down when he arrived at St. Mungo’s that afternoon.

“Um.. you know..” He shook it off, “Let’s talk about that some other time. Do you want some of this hot chocolate?”

“Yes, that sounds good.” Scorpius started to lean forward, and Jamie guided him so that he didn’t knock the table inadvertently.

“Here… Here’s another article…” He folded the paper and read from the international section, “Apparently there’s been an uptick in poaching of Chinese Fireballs over the past three months. The International Association for the Protection of Magical Creatures is petitioning the IWC for increased anti-poaching protections.” Jamie flipped the paper back and forth, wondering if there was more to that one… “Wonder what she’s thinking there?”

“Well, there was Dragon’s Blood in those pills last term, right?”

“Right, but I don’t remember anything about that this time. Maybe we’ll have to check in with Michael.. I mean I will… Next week.”

Jamie switched papers, not seeing anything further in _The Prophet_. In the _Press and Journal_ a small segment in the local crime section was circled, “Here, she’s got something… The local authorities in Aberdeen have noted a rapid increase in personal crimes, assault, disorderly conduct and domestic disturbances, but the incidence seems to be been particularly significant in a fairly discrete area.”

“That doesn’t mean anything to me.” Scorpius said.

“Nope… but, your dad’s warehouse. That’s in Aberdeen, right?”

“It is. Does Aishah know that?” Scorpius asked.

“I’m not sure… I honestly can’t remember if we told them about that… the discussion back at New Year’s.” Jamie looked through the rest of the paper and didn’t find anything else. “I’ll have to remember that for future reference… she’s got a good memory… that is if we did say anything.”

“Speaking of your dad,” Jamie continued “This afternoon, when I took a walk, I happened to overhear him and Professor Williams talking… with my dad.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. Do you know Theodore Nott?”

“Not really.” Scorpius laughed at himself. “Sorry… I mean, I don’t really know him. I think he was a friend of my dad’s back in school… His parents might have been… You know, associates of my grandparents.”

Jamie knew Scorpius wasn’t always comfortable talking about his family’s involvement in the War, and knew that he meant he was fairly sure that Nott’s parents were Death Eaters. That meant that Nott was probably involved, too. Not many of those kids broke from their parents.

“Oh. Yeah, I don’t really remember anyone with that name at school with us. Maybe a couple of kids a few years older than me… Well, in any case, sounds like he might be working on your case. At least I got that sense from what they were saying. They said something about him being the best and having direct experience that would be useful.”

“Oh” Scorpius’ eyebrows shot up, “If he was a Death Eater.” Scorpius stopped for a moment, realizing he’d said it out loud. “If he were… do you think they suspect dark magic?”

“I don’t know, maybe. It might explain why they’re having trouble. Do you think you could find out more about him?”

“Maybe. My dad might have some yearbooks or journals from school. And there might be some alumni publications. I’ll poke around.”

“Maybe you could do a little investigation on the pendant, too. They did say that it might have some effect.” Jamie suggested.

“Well, I’m just going to be bouncing around here for the moment, so I don’t see why not. I have therapy scheduled for an hour every morning, but other than that….” Scorpius shrugged. “What else did they say?”

“Two things. One, it seems like there’s some internal investigation on why it took the aurors a long time to respond.”

“It did?” Scorpius hadn’t known about that.

“Yeah. They were supposed to arrive about ten or fifteen minutes before they did. If they had arrived on time the van probably wouldn’t have been able to leave the warehouse… I don’t know if that would have been better or worse, really, but…”

“But they were delayed. So, they think that someone on the inside wanted those people, that woman and the Goyle guy, to get away.” Scorpius concluded.

“Maybe…” Jamie started.

“You’re not sure?”

“Well, my dad was kind of cagey about it, and… It’s also possible they delayed because they were hoping that they’d lead them somewhere.”

“So, I was bait… Do you really think your dad would use me like that?”

“I don’t really think so, but maybe they were thinking that confronting them in the country, away from everything, or seeing where they were going wouldn’t be functionally much different than dealing with them in Hogsmeade.” Jamie suggested.

“I guess I can see the rationale behind that, but it’s kind of risky… and clearly they didn’t count on the others being there.”

“Apparently.” Jamie agreed, but Scorpius thought Jamie didn’t sound one hundred percent convinced.

“What was the other thing?”

“The suspects… the wizards they arrested… their memories have been tampered with. My dad said that whoever had done it was very skilled.”

“So what are they going to do?” Scorpius wondered.

“I guess they’ll just try to piece together what they can get. Williams said he’s going over to the Ministry tomorrow afternoon. He mentioned something about his people needing more information.”

“Huh.” Scorpius wondered about that. It still wasn’t entirely clear who Williams worked for, but it seemed like it had to be either the Americans or some agency under the International Wizarding Congress. That reminded him of the conversation they’d overheard at Christmas.

“Do you remember that conversation we heard over Christmas?” Scorpius asked.

“You mean the one where my dad was complaining about Carlos’ dad?”

“Yeah, that’s the one. They were talking about Cooper..”

“You mean Anwen’s mother?”

“That’s the one, the muggle, and how she was angry at Zabini.”

“That’s right, because she works with the muggle Intelligence agencies, or something.”

“Right,” Scorpius said, “Well, there was that muggle tech in the warehouse. So, clearly muggles are involved.”

“Right… I guess that must have something to do with the article Aishah pulled. The muggles.”

“Maybe. I don’t know.” Jamie said, “I’ll have to talk with her.”

“When you get to school.” Scorpius said, putting down his empty cup of hot chocolate, and standing up slowly then sitting back down when he realized he wasn’t comfortable pacing in his own room.

“Let me move this.” Jamie moved the table back to its former location.

“Thanks.” Scorpius said but didn’t move. Instead he just thrummed his fingers in his lap, not knowing what to do next.

“Maybe it’s time for bed?” Jamie said. He wasn’t sure what Scorpius wanted to do now. He seemed out of sorts and kind of remote. “Can I help you?”

Scorpius stood up and started toward the bed, then turned. “Can you stay?...I’m not sure… I’m kind of tired, but….”

“Of course… yes...” Jamie said, “You think it’s okay?”

“I don’t know, I don’t think I care… I don’t want to be alone.” Scorpius said, and his voice was starting to sound shaky again.

Jamie wrapped his arms around Scorpius’ shoulders, holding him close and leaning his forehead against the side of Scorpius head, just above his ear. “I’ll stay… I’m here, and I’ll stay here. We can just sleep. Like our last sleep over, right?”

“Right, like before.” Scorpius smiled, remembering that night. “Let’s get in bed.”

Jamie gave Scorpius a little shove and he tumbled into the bed, dragging Jamie down with him. They shuffled under the covers and snuggled up close as Jamie noxed the light. “That’s better, don’t you think?” Jamie whispered into Scorpius’ ear.

“Much…” Scorpius relaxed in Jamie's arms.

They lay there for a while, and Jamie watched the way the moonlight spread over the bed and over Scorpius' hair, making it glow just the tiniest bit. He closed his eyes and listened to the sound of Scorpius’ breathing, soft and easy, as he started to drift off to sleep. Then he felt Scorpius shift and speak softly, so that even in the quiet of the night only Jamie would hear it. "It’s lonely, you know.... This.... It gets lonely not being able to see. I miss seeing people’s faces. I miss seeing them see me.... I miss looking at you…" He paused for a moment, "I miss your eyes.”

Jamie turned Scorpius so that they were facing one another and brought his hand up to his cheek. “I miss that, too... the way you look when you see me... or when I pull a face at you..." He laughed a little remembering. "But I’m here,” he reached out and touched the amulet, “and here, and I’ll just have to come up with new ways for us to share things like that...to make sure you know that I’m thinking of you.”

Then Jamie brought their lips together and began to kiss Scorpius, long, soft and slow. Their lips gently traced the outlines of one another, engaging in a slow dance that felt like whispers or quiet promises. They pulled in close together, Jamie wound his arm around Scorpius’ waist while Scorpius circled his leg around Jamie’s, creating a warm envelope around them both.

“I love you.” Scorpius said, drawing his fingers around the edge of Jamie’s eyes.

“Right back at'ya, Stinger.” Jamie said has he watched a little moonlit smile spread across Scorpius' face.

 


	20. Sun With A Few Clouds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jamie spends Sunday at Malfoy Manor with Scorpius, Draco and Lin. Boyfriend, parent and teacher things happen - fluff and feelings, mainly.

_That feels nice… That definitely feels nice… I could get used to this…_

Scorpius woke up Sunday morning with the feeling of Jamie’s hand surreptitiously sliding under the waistband of his pajamas followed by Jamie’s fingers slowly tickling through the hair just above his cock. He sighed to himself and slid into a languid half sleep as Jamie began to stroke around the shaft and trail his hand softly down until his fingers were gently circling the tip... it was perfect. When he snuggled into the body behind him hoping to encourage more of his boyfriend’s current attentions he felt surrounded by Jamie, warm, soft, and solid all at the same time.

“Good morning” Jamie whispered into his ear as his fingertips continued to trail up, down and around the object of their devotion.

Scorpius couldn’t help but smile. He could definitely get used to this. This was why people lived together… this… _Sunday morning sexy times. Good grief, did he actually just think that?_ ‘Sunday sexy times with slyly seductive Jamie Potter.’ Scorpius began to laugh to himself. ‘Silly Scorpius snuggling with his steamy sweetheart.’

Jamie felt Scorpius shaking and knew laughter when he felt it. “What?”

“It’s… I can’t believe what I’m thinking…” Scorpius shook his head.

“What?... Come on… What is it?” He poked Scorpius in the side.

“Sunday sexy times with steamy Jamie Potter…” Scorpius said it and couldn’t restrain himself from releasing a cascade of giggles.

“Sexy times, huh?” Then Jamie shifted and tickled Scorpius’ ear with his tongue. “Do you like that? Does my ssseexxxxy sssslytherin like that?” Jamie stroked Scorpius’ shaft slowly from base to tip. “Does Ssscorpiussss sssofft sssslytherin sssnake like that?”

“Oh Merlin… I knew… please stop…”

“Ummm…. Ssssooooo sssillllkyyyy….. Ssssooooo sssmooth…. Sssssoooo ssssssucculent.” Jamie purred in Scorpius’ ear, tickling him with his breath.

Scorpius rolled over and put his hand over Jamie’s mouth. “You have to stop… I’m going to go soft.”

“Doesn’t seem that way.” Jamie remarked, illustrating his point with a squeeze of his hand.

“Please….”

“Make me… Sssseeexxxy Sssscorpiusss.. Make me.” Jamie taunted him.

“That’s it…. You are so paying for this.”

With an amazing amount of dexterity, and some very willing complicity on Jamie’s part, Scorpius had his pajama bottoms and Jamie’s off in a matter of seconds. Despite Scorpius’ claim, they were both happily hard, and Scorpius nudged Jamie's legs apart so that he could grind up against him. Jamie wrapped his hand around both their cocks and released the most beautiful, soft groan that trailed off into a sigh.

Scorpius was definitely a fan of sexy Sunday mornings.

 

\------^^^^-------

 

When they cleaned up and tumbled into the dining room for breakfast, Draco and Lin were already seated. Jamie realized he probably should have more clearly considered their timing. He was having an incredibly hard time not breaking into a shit-eating, ‘I just had the wank of my life’ grin.

“You look refreshed.” Draco eyed them both and his tone was pretty unmistakable, too. “I trust you slept well?” Jamie realized his efforts at concealing his thoughts weren’t working very well.

“Yes, very good.” Scorpius nodded, maintaining the most unreadable face Jamie had ever seen. He wondered if it was a Malfoy trait or something pure-bloods were trained in. It was almost unnerving how little he was betraying of himself.

Scorpius smiled a disarmingly sweet smile and continued. “Breakfast smells fantastic. Can you pass me some of that sausage?... It all smells so good.”

“What do you have planned for today?” Professor Williams asked.

“I’m not sure.” Jamie answered.

“The weather’s great. Why don’t we get outside? I wanted to take a look around and see if there was a good course for running. I think you should try to get some exercise Scorp.”

“Running?” Scorpius looked dubious. “That seems a little ambitious.”

“I think you can probably do it if we find a course that’s stable and relatively easy for you to navigate…. And, it could give you some practice with your ability to feel out the space.”

Scorpius shrugged. “Okay… why not?” Scorpius turned to Jamie, “Will you come?”

“Sure. I think I have something I can wear.” Jamie looked around, trying to avoid Mr. Malfoy’s suspicious gaze.

“What time is it that you head off today, Jamie?” Mr. Malfoy asked, somewhat pointedly.

“I think I need to leave by around three this afternoon. I have my Transfiguration study group at three-thirty.”

Upon finishing breakfast Scorpius and Jamie rose to head back to their rooms and find something exercise appropriate. When they’d cleared hearing distance, Jamie leaned close to Scorpius and whispered, “I don’t know how you do it...”

“What do you mean?.” Scorpius asked.

“Your face. How on Earth do you manage to maintain your composure like that?”

“Oh…. That….” Scorpius laughed. “Well, it’s a little bit of practice and a little bit genetic, I think.”

“I don’t think your dad’s that good.”

“No, by my mom was an expert. She used to drive my grandmother completely around the bend. She never had any idea what my mother was thinking. She could always maintain the most perfect, obliging daughter-in-law façade… no matter what my grandmother did.” Scorpius smiled with the memory.

Jamie laughed, “I can’t imagine that… your dad’s mum. She must be terrifying.”

“She tries, but honestly, she’s got such a soft spot for my Dad… She’d do anything for him. So, that’s why she tolerated my mother, even as jealous as she was.”

“And, she must love you.”

“Oh, of course!” Scorpius laughed, “Setting aside the fact that I’m … _me_ … I’m also her only son’s only son. Draco the second, in her view… That makes me the center of the universe.”

“I can appreciate that.” Jamie agreed as they reached the top of the stairs and turned down toward the bedrooms.

“Do you really have something to wear?” Scorpius said, changing the subject. “If you don’t… maybe the elves could pull something together?”

“No, I’m set. I figured we might try to get outside… and I was kind of hoping we might be able to fly a little if the weather was nice.”

“Flying? Don’t you think that’s being a little ambitious?”

“Not on your own… with me.” Jamie corrected him. “I used to do it with Albus and Lily all the time before they could fly.”

“But I’m a lot bigger than they were, I’m sure.”

“True, but you know what you’re doing… and Albus…”

“I take your point… not a natural on a broom.” Scorpius agreed, thinking of Albus flying. Albus was talented at many things, and had a feeling for animals and magical creatures that was unmatched in Scorpius’ experience, but he never did develop much of a feel for flying. In that area he’d remained more squibbish than Scorpius would like to admit… “On the other hand, now that he can transfigure into a dragon, why would he ever take a broom?”

“You got me there. Of course, it’s not so great for covert operations.”

“You running many of those?” Scorpius raised an eyebrow.

“Well. You never know… Auror Jamie Potter might.”

“Right… when you’re the long arm of the law.”

“Are you doubting my dedication to wizardkind?”

Scorpius laughed, “Not at all… When it comes to that.. you’re all Potter.”

“You think so?”

Scorpius stopped in his tracks “Are you serious?... No matter what you end up doing, there is no chance it’s not going to involve fighting for what’s right… You’re way to Gryffindor to do anything else…. And, despite all my Slytherin good sense, I seem to find it irresistible.”

“I hope so… Anyway…” Jamie said moving toward the door to his room, “We’d better get changed. See you back here in five?”

“Yes… in five…minutes… back here…” Scorpius said, not really moving.

Jamie looked at him, not sure why he wasn’t moving toward his room. “Ummm… Do you need help?

“Oh… no… I… I’ll just meet you back here, then.” He said, and began to turn.

Jamie reached out and put his hand on Scorpius’ arm. “Scor, is something bothering you?”

“I’m not sure… Well... I haven’t been outside yet. Things move… out there... It’s so open…”

Jamie realized why it was that Professor Williams wanted to get Scorp outside. He needed to get into unfamiliar situations. If no one said anything, there’d be a good chance he’d just stay inside the Manor all the time reading. It would be so easy.

Jamie held on to Scorpius’ arm gently, “It’ll be fine, I’m sure. It’s going to be such a great day today, and it’ll feel fantastic to get some fresh air…. And, the flying will be great. You know how to fly like you know the back of your hand.”

“You do realize the back of my right hand is completely new.” Scorpius cocked his head with a smirk.

“You know what I mean.” Jamie said as he yanked Scorpius close and planted a kiss on the side of his head. “Let’s get changed and see what Williams has cooked up for us. Merlin only knows.”

 

\------^^^^------

 

Professor Williams was waiting for them when they'd finally changed and made their way downstairs.

“Why don’t we head out to the South Lawn?” He suggested and led Jamie and Scorpius outside.

Jamie took a look at Scorpius and wished he could say something to him about the fact that Professor Williams seemed very at home in Malfoy Manor. Maybe he’d bring it up later, or in a letter. It was amazing how much went unsaid when you couldn’t communicate without sound.

Once they were outside Williams directed them to the walk. There was a paved walkway that went down the west side of the south lawn and then out along the serpentine before turning east and winding back up toward the east side of the Manor. Williams was thinking that if Scorpius got a sense of it, he could probably run it as a circuit on a regular basis.

“Scorpius, why don’t you follow me. Just listen to my foot steps and use your sensor wand. I’ll go slowly and also call out as we turn.” He looked at Scorpius for a nod of approval, “Do you think you can do that?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure, but at least I know the paths. We might as well try.” Scorpius concluded.

They started off slowly at a very slow jog. Scorpius was getting a hang of using the wand, and also had a good sense of the path. He’d played on these grounds endlessly before he left for school when he was eleven, and the time away hadn’t dulled his memory much. He was surprised to find he was enjoying it; the fresh air, the crunch of the gravel, the feeling of blood picking up and pumping through his body. It felt good.

“We’re about to leave the South Lawn.” Williams called. “Twenty yards and we’ll turn left.”

Scorpius slowed down, unsure if he could navigate the turn. He remembered what the turn looked like, and felt around with the wand. Fortunately the ground was pretty solid, and he took the turn okay, slowly, but okay.

“You know, this winds a little. Maybe you want to run behind me and to the side so that you can keep an arm on me?” Williams suggested as he slowed again.

“Actually, I think I’ll do better if I just keep the wand on you to keep track of you. I don’t want to get tangled up in your legs or something…” Scorpius positioned the wand to monitor Williams’ back as they proceeded down the path, and Williams picked up his speed a little.

Scorpius called behind himself to where he could hear Jamie’s footfalls, “You okay back there?”

“Yeah, good… How about you?”

“Good… So far, so good…” Scorpius wasn’t sure he could sustain a conversation and pay attention to Williams and the terrain at the same time, so he let the talking stop and concentrated on the sound of Williams in front of him and Jamie behind.

When there was no one talking he realized how much sound was around that he normally didn’t pay attention to. The way the sound echoed or was absorbed as they passed hedges and plantings was new to him. He was aware of the sound of the water to his left and the rippling of the run and falls that were coming up in the stream ahead. There was a lot of information out there, he just needed to figure out how to fit it all together, to better understand what it all meant. In some ways he felt like he was learning a new language.

As they drew near the end of the serpentine Scorpius could hear the churn from the small waterfall grow louder, and he knew that the right turn and a slope was coming up. “We should slow a little for this turn, right?” He called ahead.

“You got it. It’s coming up in about fifteen yards now.” Williams called back as he slowed to make the turn east.

They were about fifty feet past the turn when Scorpius stumbled. It was over nothing, really. He just didn’t lift his feet enough as he was jogging up the incline and lost his footing. Fortunately, he didn’t actually fall, just lost his balance for a moment and stutter stepped a bit before getting himself upright, but he did have to reach out to stabilize himself and dropped his wand.

“I can fetch that.” Jamie offered, jogging up to get the wand as Scorpius stopped for a moment to catch his breath and get his bearings.

“No.” Scorpius countered. “Let me find it. I need to practice. I’m going to drop it, and I need practice retrieving it.”

He closed his eyes and tried to get a sense of where he was. He held out his hands almost like he was palpating the air, and began to try to feel the landscape around him to see if he could get a pull from the wand. He’d been holding it so often over the past week he thought he should have some sense of the feel of it even if it wasn’t in his hand.

After a few moments he thought he recognized something and figured he’d give an _accio_ a go. Instead of a directed _accio_ , he thought he’d try keeping his hand more open and envision the feeling of the wand coming into his hand. He was focusing more on receiving the wand than pulling it to him. He hoped it would work.

He directed his thoughts toward the general area where he thought the wand was resting. “ _Accio Wand_.” He called out.

He heard the sound of something coming lose from the base of a hedge just ahead and to his right and knew that the wand was coming at him. For some reason he closed his hand up, and when the wand arrived it hit the side of his hand and fell to his feet. He needed to try that again, probably many more times, but he had a feeling that he could get it to work if he just practiced enough and trusted the wand to come into his hand. He knew he could.

He bent down and grabbed the wand from the dirt by his shoe. “I’ve got it…. Let’s get started again, then.”

“You’re the boss.” Williams said.

“I’m not so sure about that, but I appreciate the pretense.” Scorpius laughed.

When they arrived back at the Manor they’d managed about a thirty minute run, and Scorpius found he was feeling incredibly invigorated. He wasn’t ready to stop and really wanted to try to see if he could get a sense of the environment without the wand.

“Can we go back to the South Lawn again? I’d really like to see if I can do some wandless work there. See if I can get a sense of it… and the lawn is so flat there.”

“Sure, why not?” Williams agreed, and they made their way back across the south side of the Manor to the lawn.

The sun was out in full now, and Jamie could feel the heat of it on his head and across his chest. He pulled at his muggle sweatshirt and wished he’d worn something lighter. He looked over and Williams was pulling off his hoodie. Evidently he wasn’t the only one who’d noticed the heat of the day.

“What’s the NY on your shirt mean?” Jamie asked.

“It’s for the New York Yankees, they’re a baseball team.””

“Baseball? That’s a muggle sport, right? Something like muggle cricket?”

“A little bit. There’s a pitcher, that’s kind of like the bowler, and a batter, but instead of the two ends there are four bases, and there’s just one batter at a time…”

“Sounds confusing.” Jamie said.

“Actually, it’s pretty simple. I’m sure you’d get it right away if you saw it played. The rules and gameplay are pretty straight forward.” Williams responded. “If you’re ever in America you should check it out.”

Jamie shrugged, and they turned to see what Scorpius was up to. He’d walked into the middle of the lawn and was just standing there with his eyes closed turning very slowly as if he was surveying the property or even looking for something.

“You really think this is a thing?” Jamie asked, not certain this was actually going to work for Scorpius and a little worried it was a false promise.

“I know it is… I don’t know how much it will be for him, but I’ve seen it. There was a guy I worked with when I was stationed in Jordan who could navigate any space in complete darkness.””

“Do you really think Scorpius will be able to do that?” Jamie was looking at Scorpius who was walking around now holding his right hand out as if he was sensing air movements through his palm.

“He might. It’s a matter of him getting a feel for the information that’s available to him and making sense of it. Magic is all about connecting with the world and the energy around us, and learning how to read it and manipulate it. That’s what you’re doing with your charm work, isn’t it?”

“I suppose so, but the wand…”

“The wand’s just the conduit. The wand’s nothing without you.”

Jamie shrugged. “I suppose, yeah…” Then his mind backtracked a little, “So, what were you doing in Jordan?”

“Working” Williams answered.

“Not going to say, huh?” Jamie looked at him out of the side of his eye.

“Not really much to say… just working.” Williams gave him a smile that said, and that’s all you’re getting.

Jamie nodded and turned just in time to see Scorpius running at them. “So,” Scorpius said, “I’ve got an idea.”

“Shoot.” Jamie said.

“You two run out into the space, and I’ll see if I can find you. I have a sense of the layout of the area, and now I need some unknowns.” Scorpius explained.

“Sure, sounds good.” Williams said, and he and Jamie went out onto the lawn and took their spots.

Scorpius began to survey the space again, silently envisioning the space with Jamie and Professor Williams now in the scene. Then he started to walk toward Jamie, then picked up his pace to a slight jog. When he was about three feet away he slowed again, stepped forward and reached out to touch Jamie.

“Jamie.” He said.

“It is.” Jamie answered.

“Okay. You can move now. I’m going to go find Professor Williams now.” Then Scorpius was off in the direction of Williams.

Again, when he was about two or three feet from the object of his attention he slowed and reached out, then moved in to touch him. “Professor.”

“I think I’ve told you, you can call me Lin when we’re not in class.” Williams answered.

“Right, Lin.”

“Okay, I’m going to go find Jamie.” Then Scorpius stopped and scanned around silently before heading off in Jamie’s direction. They continued on like that for another half hour, playing what might have looked like a very slow game of tag to an unknowing observer. Finally, Scorpius grew tired of that activity.

“Alright. That was good, right?” He said, looking for Williams’ approval.

“Yes. Very good, I think.” Williams agreed, then turned and realized Draco was heading toward them from the south terrace. “Draco, did you see our game?”

“No, I’m sorry I missed it.”

“Don’t worry, Father. I’ll get you out here tomorrow and we can have a go. It’ll be fun.” If Jamie had been asked, he’d have said that Scorpius appeared to have a devilish little twinkle in his eye thinking of dragging his dad out for a game of tag… even if it was the slow kind.

“Mr. Malfoy, do you have your brooms around?” Jamie asked. “I was thinking we might do a little flying.”

“Sure, we store them in the carriage house. Whey don’t we go pull some out… I’m assuming Scorpius is flying with you… unless something really amazing’s been going on out here.”

“Yes… No.. I mean, yes, he’ll fly with me.” Jamie answered, feeling tongue tied all over again. He wasn’t sure he’d ever feel really comfortable talking with Scorpius’ dad.

“Hey.” Scorpius piped up. “While you fetch the brooms, I’m going to drag Prof… Lin…. Down to the gym to see if we can arrange it so that I can use it while I’m here.”

“That sounds like a great idea.” Lin agreed. “Maybe we can meet back here in about thirty minutes?”

“That sounds good.” Draco answered. “That will give us about an hour or so of flying before lunch. I’ve asked Estie to have it ready for shortly after one.”

With that, Jamie found himself following Draco through the grounds of the Manor and toward the carriage house, which was on the southwest side of the building. Once they were in the structure Draco gave a little cough.

“Jamie,” he paused and coughed again, clearing his throat. “I’m glad we have a few minutes in private to talk.”

Jamie grimaced inside. He really didn’t want to have a private talk with Scorp’s dad. What if he wanted to talk about… sex or something? Jamie wasn’t sure that he could really talk about that. No, he was pretty sure he wouldn’t want to talk about that. He wiped his hands against his joggers. His hands were sweaty.

“Jamie?” Draco asked.

“Oh… I’m sorry.. Yeah, me too.” Jamie wasn’t sure if that was what he was supposed to say in this situation, but there didn’t seem to be anything better to say.

“First. I want to thank you.”

“For what?” Jamie asked.

“For your help with Scorpius. For the time you spent at St. Mungo’s, and the readers, and all the other ways you’ve supported him over the past several days.”

Jamie looked at him, a little confused and unsure what he would have done other than the things he did. “I… You don’t need to thank me. I didn’t want to be anywhere else. I couldn’t have been…”

“Just the same, do not think it hasn’t been noticed.” Draco spoke again. “That being said, I feel compelled to speak on behalf of my son and ask you to be cautious in your relationship. Scorpius is in a very vulnerable position right now, and I don’t want him to be disappointed.”

“Why would I disappoint him?” Jamie asked, confused.

“I know that you’ll be moving on to Auror training in the summer, and if things don’t improve with Scorpius…” Draco trailed off, seeming to be considering his next words.

“What are you saying? That I’d dump him because he’s blind and I find something more exciting to do?”

“Jamie, please, I don’t believe you’d intentionally hurt him, but you’re at a time in your life when things change so quickly.”

“I don’t think you understand.” Jamie interrupted, feeling suddenly quite hot, “I…” He took a deep breath to try to loosen the tightness in his chest. “I love Scorpius.” Jamie was incredibly uncomfortable, but he continued, “And, it’s… I love him. Not Scorpius who can see, or can’t see, or who can fly or not… or whatever he can or can’t do. He’s… He’s just so much more than that…. It’s… It’s the way he is in the world. His enthusiasm and humor and the way he looks at things…. I mean the way he understands things… He’s interested in everything, and so incredibly smart, and he knows so much, every day with him is… more…. When I see the world with him, I just see more… _he makes it more_ … and I hope I do the same for him… make his world more… So, everything I did over the last week or so, it was because I want to… I want to make his world just as amazing as he makes mine…”

Draco watched Jamie as he tried to explain, and felt both relieved and concerned. “Well, thank you. I’m sure you realize that has his father, I worry. Scorpius is my son, my family…”

Jamie nodded, “I know.”

Draco coughed again, “In any case… there’s something else.”

Jamie looked at him, wondering what it might be and hoping…

“I know that you spent the night in Scorpius’ room last night.” He started, looking nearly as uncomfortable as Jamie felt. “And, I choose to believe that you weren’t up to anything that you really shouldn’t have been. However, this is my home, and I hope you won’t make a habit of engaging in activities that aren’t appropriate.”

Draco was looking at Jamie with a look that Jamie interpreted as ‘please say you understand so that I don’t have to elaborate.’ So, he answered “Yes, Sir… Of course.”

“Good. Now, let’s find those brooms.” Draco finished and turned to walk toward the back of the space where there were some large cabinets along one wall. He opened one of them up and Jamie was face to face with more than a half dozen brooms, all of very high quality. He supposed he should have expected this. Scorp’s dad didn’t seem to go in half-way on things.

“Great. Do you have a favorite?” Jamie asked.

“This one’s mine.” Draco said, pulling out a Nimbus 2001, which surprised Jamie, he would have expected something newer.

“I’m sentimental.” Draco answered, seeing the question in Jamie’s eyes. “This should work for you and Scorpius,” He said pointing to a Nimbus 2020, “and I think Lin favors something like this.” He pulled out a Firebolt 150.

Jamie nodded and took hold of the Nimbus while Draco took the Firebolt and his own broom.

They still had about 15 minutes or so before Professor Williams and Scorpius were due to meet up with them again. Draco decided to quickly run and check on the timing for lunch while Jamie thought he’d give the broom he’d selected a test run.

He hopped on the Nimbus and kicked off, quickly rising into the air. It was pretty similar to his Nimbus Galatine, but had a bit more power. He took some sweeps around the estate and wondered what it was like for Scorpius to grow up here all on his own. Even though they’d talked about the differences in their experiences, it was so different seeing it and spending time here, all the empty rooms and uninhabited spaces. He knew he wouldn’t have done well here, he needed people too much, but it was probably the reason Scorpius was more self-sufficient and self-directed than he was. And, he couldn’t deny, it was beautiful. The spring was really coming on now, and the leaves on the oak, ash and beech trees were fresh and yellow-green.

When he swung back toward the South Terrace, he saw that Scorpius and Professor Williams were outside now, and brought his broom down.

“You ready?” He asked Scorpius, his voice fresh with the flush of cool air.

“Yes. Definitely.” Scorpius came over and climbed on behind Jamie, holding firm to his waist. “I’ve never done this before. So, let me know if there’s anything I need to know.”

“Just relax and hang on when I kick off. Other than that, I’m sure you’ll know what to do…. Ready?”

“Uh-huh.” Scorpius answered and did his best not to try to kick off like he’d done thousands of times over the years while Jamie got the broom up into the air.

He felt himself falter a little when they first lifted off, mostly because he was holding himself rigid trying to counter his instinct to take charge of the broom, but once they were airborne it was much easier. He rested his chin on Jamie’s shoulder and felt the air stream by his face. The sensation was fantastic, especially after having been cooped up for so many days in the hospital. The air just smelled better up off the ground, too.

“How you doing?” Jamie called back while leaning into a deep curve.

“Good, it’s good.”

“I told you. I’m good at this.”

“It could be me, you know.” Scorpius answered, giving Jamie a little squeeze.

They fell silent again, and Scorpius just let himself relax into the sensation of flying with Jamie. He let Jamie’s body take the lead, leaning into curves when he did, and pulling back or leaning forward into climbs and dips. He noticed the way the heat of the sun fluttered over his body as they passed through cloud shadows and back into bright light and the way you could smell the trees as they drew closer to the ground.

He felt a ripple of air, “Who is that?”

“Professor Williams. He and your dad are up now.”

“Mmm…”

“About your dad… When we were getting the brooms we had a little conversation.”

“Oh… I’m sorry.”

Scorpius could feel Jamie shaking his head. “Don’t worry… I just wanted to warn you because he’s probably going to have a chat with you about me sleeping in your room last night. I think we’ll need to be a little more… He’d just rather we didn’t.”

“But he didn’t pay such close attention before.”

“Well, you hadn’t nearly died before.” Jamie answered.

“Oh.” Scorpius answered, and Jamie could feel him take a deep breath.

“I know he doesn’t like to talk about things, but I know he was scared out of his mind…. We all were.”

Jamie felt Scorpius hug him tighter, “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?... Wait, hold on.” Jamie said as he flew down closer to the ground and landed them in the orchard.

They stepped off the broom and Jamie turned to Scorpius. “You don’t need to be sorry… You didn’t…”

“But if I hadn’t gone after Karl on my own like that. If I’d waited, or gone for help, or…”

“Come on, Scorp, you weren’t completely yourself and you could never have known.”

“But, I….” Scorpius started, but Jamie interrupted him.

“If anyone’s to blame it’s me. I should have looked out for you better. We got these amulets so that I could be there for you, and I wasn’t. I wasn’t there, and then when it came down to it you were trying to help me…”

“Jamie…”

“You were hurt… you nearly... because you were trying to stop them from hurting me.”

“Jamie,” Scorpius reached for Jamie, took the broom from him, tossed it to the side and took Jamie’s hands in his. “It is not your fault… absolutely not your fault. I’ll concede that it’s not entirely my fault, but I’m not letting you put this on yourself. If anyone’s at fault it’s the wizard that did this. Not you. Definitely not you.”

“But you could have died. You have no idea… Do you even remember?” Jamie could feel his voice starting to waiver.

Scorpius put his hand up to Jamie’s face and felt the wetness of the tears that were starting to fall.

Up above Draco and Lin had looped around and saw Scorpius and Jamie down below. They could see that the two were in serious conversation. Draco looked at Lin, wondering if they should go in, and Lin shook him off and signaled for him to follow him to another part of the sky.

Scorpius stepped closer to Jamie and brought Jamie’s head to his shoulder. He could feel the wetness of Jamie’s cheek against his neck.

“I was so… I really thought….” Jamie was pulling in deep breaths in his struggle to speak but not fall completely to pieces. He took a moment and let the feeling of Scorpius’ fingers running through his hair soothe him.

He let out another deep breath. “I really did think you could die…” He felt his hart speeding up again and tried to dig deep. “I never… I never had any idea…” He gripped Scorpius tighter. “I never had any idea how it would feel. I mean, I was scared when you and Albus went missing last year… My parents were really scared… but that was nothing like this…. You were in so much pain, and the healers all looked so grim… the blood, and the smell of your skin, burned… the sound of you…”

Jamie wiped his eyes without releasing Scorpius from his hold, and Scorpius shuddered a little remembering that night. He wished that there was a way for Jamie to only remember hazy bits and pieces like he did. He wished Jamie didn’t have to have those memories at all.

“I’m sorry…” Scorpius started.

“I told you…” Jamie interrupted.

“No, I’m sorry you have those memories. I’m sorry it happened at all. I wish it hadn’t, and I know it was horrible, though I hardly remember.”

“I’m really glad you don’t” Jamie said, starting to breathe a little easier.

“But, I know that you being there helped me. That it made a difference, because it’s made a difference all along.” Scorpius held Jamie’s head between his hands and leaned their foreheads together. “You make me believe I can do this… whatever happens.”

Scorpius listened as the sound of Jamie’s breathing steadied, and he wiped away Jamie’s tears which seemed to be nearly drying up.

Jamie took Scorpius’ right hand and kissed his palm, then the inside of his wrist, and as the shirt sleeve slipped up Jamie noticed something.

“You know that mark you have on your arm, Scorp?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, it came back… with the new skin.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, and it might even be a little darker now… It’s starting to have a bit of a shape of an eight, maybe, but the top’s a little smaller than the bottom. Kind of like our amulets.”

“Huh…” Scorpius thought, “Well, warn me if it turns into something obscene.”

Jamie smiled, “Maybe…”

“Ugh. Come on Potter.” Scorpius rolled his eyes, groaned and pulled Jamie in for a kiss. “We should probably get moving, I think it’s probably nearly lunch, and we’ve got to clean up and pack.”

“Back to school.” Jamie sighed.

“Back to reality.” Scorpius added.


	21. Tangles and Nott

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a good news, bad news, kind of situation. While rumors have started at Hogwarts, progress is being made on Scorpius' condition, and Jamie has the opportunity to get involved in some curse breaking work with Theo Nott.

Jamie was smiling with the memory of lunch and a little taste of Scorpius on his lips when he tumbled out of the floo and into Hogwarts’ Headmistress’ unexpectedly cramped office. In addition to Professor McGonagall, Albus, Teddy, Zora and Uncle Nev were all there, and they all had foreboding looks on their faces. For a moment he thought he’d forgotten some kind of meeting, and then he realized something serious must have happened. This hadn’t been planned.

“Jamie.” McGonagall said in a hushed, measured tone. “Please join us.”

Jamie looked around “What’s going on?”

He looked over at Albus and couldn’t really read his face. Al was definitely upset, irritated, and a little angry… it wasn’t serious distress … but he was definitely not happy. Jamie was struck by the the thought that Al really looked a lot like his dad did when he was angry about a case, like it was personal but also something bigger, weightier.

“There was a fight.” Uncle Nev spoke first.

“Was someone hurt?” Jamie looked around. The only member of his family that wasn’t there was Lily, and he was certain she wasn’t involved. If she had been, his parents would be here.

“No, not really…” Albus was talking, “They said things… they’re saying things… about Scorpius… and us… and dad….”

“What?”

“Well… They’re saying that there’s a coverup. That we’re to blame for what happened with Kris and Karl… That Scorp was hurt because he was using dark magic, and the Ministry is covering it up because he’s dating you, and is my best friend, and, you know, we’re the Head Auror’s kids… And also that Scorp’s dad probably paid someone off because he doesn’t want anyone to know…” Albus finished the sentence by making a ‘you know’ kind of motion with his hands.

“Oh Merlin’s Wrinkled Dick, not that again…” Jamie knew where this was going, the ‘Son of Voldemort’ bullshit.

“Yeah, that again…” Albus looked at Jamie, and now he looked tired and worried.

“Does Mr. Malfoy know?” Jamie asked.

McGonagall answered. “I’ve just sent an owl over, and I’m going to call on him this evening. I want to make sure he’s aware in case anything pops up outside the school community.”

“The fight was in Hogsmeade… yesterday night…” Teddy explained.

Jamie realized that meant there were bystanders – bystanders who could report the incident and what was being said to _The Prophet_. If there was one thing the wizarding press loved it was gossip and scandal. So far the fact that he and Scorp were dating had been of no particular interest to anyone as far as he could tell, but this would definitely push it into the “of public interest” category and justify coverage.

“Okay… So, can someone back up and tell me what happened?” He looked around the room.

Albus started, and Jamie closed his eyes to listen and figure out what they were going to do.

In the end, the whole thing came down to a pretty simple story. Kris’ friends, namely Vic, Dan and Emma, were angry about the fact that he’d been suspended, and, unfortunately, they had learned that Scorpius was developing his wandless magic. So, they kind of built on that and somehow it had morphed into a story where Scorpius had gone willingly with Karl and Kris on an ill advised but youthful adventure which ended with Scorpius crashing the van and trying to cover it up by using dark magic.

“I’m really sorry.” Albus finished.

“Why? What does it have to do with you?” Jamie asked.

“Well... I told Phoebe about what Scorp was learning, and she’s the person who told Karl.”

“Since when is she friends with Karl?”

“Um… I think she was unhappy with how things were going.” Albus kind of waved his hands at himself and took a breath, “and then they just got to talking… and she just didn’t think anything of it…” Albus looked at the floor. “She said she was sorry, and I believe her… I do.”

Jamie grimaced. He knew Phoebe, and he was certain she hadn’t done anything to harm Scorpius on purpose, but this was going to be hard to undo… Even if it was just because of a bad decision.

“Al,” Jamie looked at his brother, “Think about all the stupid things I’ve done….” Then he shrugged, knowing he was just lucky his bad decisions hadn’t turned out worse.

“Well” Albus bit his lip, “So, what now?”

Zora answered, “I don’t know. At the moment, we can’t really do much to counter what’s being said because there’s still an ongoing investigation. The aurors have asked everyone involved to maintain confidentiality until they’re ready.” She looked around the room, “Teddy, Nev and I only know because we’ve been involved and Nev’s here today as Head of House for Gryffindor…” Jamie looked over at his Godfather, who looked slightly chuffed. Jamie assumed he felt he wasn’t being fully briefed on the situation, and he probably wasn’t. He came back to the moment when he heard Zora’s voice saying “… and Rose and Ben were involved.”

“Rose and Ben?” Jamie looked a little confused.

Albus explained “Yeah, Rose, Ben, and Yann got really angry about what they were saying about Scorpius and me, and you… and they got in an argument with Vic and Dan, and it escalated…”

“It escalated?” Jamie looked around for a little more explanation.

“Hexes were used… and punches ended up being thrown.” Zora answered.

“Rose?” Jamie was incredulous.

“Yup.” Albus raised his eyebrows and shook his head remembering the scene, “She was hot, really upset… Apparently, you don’t insult Rose Weasley-Granger’s family… and now Scorpius apparently is part of that set… without paying the price. Vi had to peel her off of Dan. He was pretty worse for wear, too.”

Jamie couldn’t help but laugh, and had to stop himself when he turned and saw his Headmistress’ look of extreme disapproval.

“The students involved in the brawl,” she intoned, purposefully accentuating her rolled r’s, “have been disciplined.”

“Are you saying I have to come up with subs for Rose and Ben on the pitch, too?” Jamie looked pained, “Please tell me not…”

“No, they have kitchen duty and detention. They’re going to work off their sins with elbow grease and studying.” She explained

“You do realize that extra studying isn’t really much of a punishment for Rose.” Jamie countered.

“I know no such thing.” McGonagall answered with a decidedly blank expression.

 

\-------^^^^------

 

Albus and Jamie left the office while Teddy, Zora, Nev and Professor McGonagall remained behind to talk about what should be done to manage the student body.

“I hope you’re not too upset with Phoebe.” Jamie said when they’d put a little distance between themselves and McGonagall’s office.

“No. It’s probably partly my fault.” He mumbled a bit as he shuffled along, “I knew things weren’t quite right between us, but I didn’t want to deal with it…. I should have broken things off… but then everything with Scorpius…”

“It’s been nuts.” Jamie agreed, “But, you don’t know that things wouldn’t have turned out the same way. She still might have said something…” He dug his hands into his pockets, “People are going to believe what they want to believe.”

When they got to the turn for the Gryffindor Tower, Albus turned along with Jamie. “I’m going to try to catch Phoebe before tomorrow. Just check to see how she’s doing.”

Jamie nodded and they walked on in silence for a moment.

“How was the rest of your stay?” Albus asked, hoping for something better to talk about.

“Oh. Great, actually. We went flying.” Jamie smiled.

“I’m guessing he didn’t try to jump off.” Albus commented, thinking of an infamous Lily Potter moment.

“No.” Jamie shook his head with a small laugh, “He hung on. I think he’s doing okay, actually.”

“Oh yeah, Scorpius is definitely a glass half full kind of person.” Albus sighed as they reached the Gryffindor tower and walked in toward the Common Room. “Way more than I am, anyway.” Albus finished as he caught the eye of Phoebe, who was sitting in the far corner of the room looking decidedly worse for wear.

“I’ll see you later?” Jamie asked, then added, “Don’t be too hard on yourself or Phoebe. It happens.”

Albus nodded silently as he walked over to sit beside Phoebe, and Jamie turned to head up to his dorm.

As he jogged up the stairs Jamie realized he was running late for his study group, and he still wanted to owl Scorp. He decided to get to Scorp first and make his apologies to Michael and Elisabeth later. They’d understand.

He grabbed a piece of parchment and started scratching. If he was quick he could get a letter out and still catch everyone for some studying before dinner.

  
\------^^^^-------

 

While Jamie was getting a less than welcome update at Hogwarts Lin Williams was stepping out of the hearth at Grimmauld Place to get an update on Scorpius’ case from Harry, and like Jaime he’d run into unexpected company.

“Hello?” Lin looked at the bespectacled and slightly furrowed face of a man he didn’t know.

“Oh. Hello.” The man looked up, “You must be Lin. I’m Theo. Theodore Nott… the Curse Breaker.”

“I see.” Lin looked around. “Where’s Harry?”

“He’s just gone to the Ministry Library. I needed another resource, and he was kind enough to volunteer.”

“Humm… well….” Lin wasn’t sure if this was going to be a long wait or a short one. Harry knew he was coming, and he generally wasn’t in the habit of standing people up.

“So. You’re here about the Malfoy case?” Nott spoke without looking up from the reams of parchment he was working over.

“Yes. Harry was going to update me, and I wanted to get a sense of how things were going…” Lin trailed off. He wasn’t sure how ‘in the know’ this Nott guy was other than working on Scorpius’ case.

“Well. I can give you the update on the counter curse work, at least.” Nott looked up then, and Lin noticed he had surprisingly penetrating eyes. He wasn’t sure how to explain it except for the sense that he was very much in the habit of really looking at things. It was a bit unnerving.

“Yes, thank you. That’d be good.” Lin sat down opposite Nott and looked down at the material in front of him. There were drawings of the amulet, and some notes, and a few diagrams of the accident scene with a number of computations sketched across them.

“Well, based on the readings taken from the amulet, the Bind and the effects of the curse and Scorpius’ defensive spell, I believe we’re looking at an _incendium_ _internus_.” Nott tapped at the parchment with the end of his quill.

“But… isn’t that meant to burn from the inside?” Lin asked.

“You know some dark magic?” Nott turned to look at him. “Harry didn’t say much about you, but I had a feeling… and I poked around… Anyway, yes… But I think that the protections kept the spell from penetrating. However, the unfortunate result was external damage, the scraping and burning.”

Lin took a breath remembering that night.

“However, there are some complications to getting this resolved.” Nott looked at Lin who raised his eyebrows to say ‘and?’

“First, I need to get the amulet so that I can run some additional diagnostics. The work that the aurors and healers did was good, but… well, it’s not really their thing. Also, getting some additional background on the amulet would be good. Its provenance would be very helpful.”

“I’m sure we can work with you on that. Draco should have all the information on the amulet. It came from a collection he sourced…. And, I’m sure Scorpius would be happy to loan it to you. Just say the word.”

“One other thing that may have influenced the results… I have a suspicion, based mostly on experience and instinct, that the wand used for the spell was influenced in some way by one of the boys.”

“How so?” Lin looked at Theo who was tapping his fingertips together now.

“Well, sometimes, if a wand was owned by someone close to the object of the spell or has reason not to be fully faithful to its user, it may be influenced by the object of he spell. I’ve seen it happen a couple of times before, and this kind of result is in line with that situation.”

Lin looked at Nott, “So, how soon would you like to see Scorpius and the amulet?”

“As soon as possible.” Nott looked back at his papers, “From everything I can see here, Scorpius is stable, which is good… but, I don’t like the idea of anything settling in.”

“Settling in?” Lin looked at him.

“Well, there’s no reason that the curse couldn’t be reversed at any time, but I don’t like taking any chances… And, the more time that elapses the tighter and deeper the curse may embed. Perhaps I could come by the Manor? I know Draco has a fairly extensive library… and that may be of use.” Nott looked at his watch. “Oh… Well.. I’ve got to get running. Why don’t you have Draco fire-call me, and we can set something up? And, you can tell Harry he can drop whatever he finds in my office… or, I can come by for it.”

“I will. Thanks.” Lin looked at him. “Really, thank you.”

“It’s my pleasure.” Nott smiled and then retracted the smile with a little grimace, realizing that the smile might seem odd. “I… Well, I enjoy this kind of challenge. I don’t get this kind of case every day.”

“I understand.” Lin reached out his hand. “It was nice meeting you, in any event.”

“You as well.” Nott turned to go and then turned back. “Is it true that you were part of the team that secured the Aeshma’s Mace?”

Lin smiled. “You know…”

“I do.” Nott smiled again. “Well… Maybe someday.”

“Have a nice night. We’ll be in touch.”

Nott turned and disappeared into the flame as Lin settled in to wait on Harry.

 

\------^^^^-------

 

That evening, just before dinner, Scorpius heard the tapping of an owl at his bedroom window. He rose and released the sash, letting the bird inside. It landed on his shoulder and Scorpius could feel the letter attached to its leg.

He reached up and untied the parchment roll and made his way over to the side table where he kept the owl treats Ragnell particularly liked. The owl hopped off and he heard it land on the back of the love seat by the window.

He sat down on the bed, opened the letter and slid his ring around to begin to listen to its contents – and the sound of Jamie’s voice.

_Scor,_

_Sorry this is going to be a short, and not particularly enjoyable, letter. It’s not what I was hoping for our first official correspondence with your new readers. I promise you’ll get a better one soon._

_In the meantime, here’s the news - I think your dad might already have talked to you, but just in case I wanted to let you know right away. Something has happened here that you need to know about - -_

_I don’t really know how to say this without just cutting straight to it. So, I guess I will. Apparently, a rumor has started here that you’re practicing dark magic, and that’s the reason why you were injured. It’s total crap, and you know that anyone who knows you will know it’s crap, but… well… people like to have stories to tell, and you seem to be the subject of the current story._

_The good news is that your fan club seems to be growing. I know you’re thinking, ‘What are you on about, Jamie?” Well, when I got back to Hogwarts there was a meeting going on in McGonagall’s because there was quite a row in Hogsmeade on Saturday night when Rose, Yann and Ben got into a fight with Vic, Dan and Emma Smith about the whole thing. Rose especially seemed to take it upon herself to defend your honor – ours actually, since the second part of the rumor is that the whole thing’s being covered up because Dad is Head Auror and your dad may or may not have paid someone off because of the whole ‘Son of Voldemort’ thing._

_I hope this doesn’t get under your skin too much. I don’t know if it’s better or worse that you’re not here. If you were here, everyone could see how ridiculous the idea is, but not being here means you don’t have to deal with the whispers. I know you’ve been through it before, but still… there’s no reason you should have to deal with it again. I’m hoping it all dies down soon._

_Anyway, I’ve got to run to study group, and I want to get this to you as soon as possible._

_I miss you already, stinger._

_Love,_

_Jamie_

Scorpius read through the note again, and felt himself rolling his eyes and suppressing a shudder at the same time. Even though he should be immune to this kind of thing, it wasn’t pleasant to think he might be the subject of that kind of rumor again. He had learned to ignore the ‘Son of Voldemort’ whispers before, but that didn’t make them any less unpleasant. He had just learned to live with the unpleasantness.

He rolled up the parchment and set it aside. He’d send a note back to Jamie after dinner, once he’d had a chance to talk to his dad and let his thoughts settle a little. Whatever he was feeling, he was sure his dad was much worse. He’d always taken the ‘Son of Voldemort’ situation more personally, feeling it was mainly due to the the things his family had done during the war, things Scorpius knew he deeply regretted and had worked hard to atone for.

The shuffling sound of feathers reminded him of Gawain’s presence. It sounded like he’d moved to share Ragnell’s perch, and it seemed like the two owls must be getting on. They weren’t squawking. So far, he’d only heard a couple of hello-ish sounding hoots coming from their direction.

“Do you two want to stretch your wings ?” He asked and took the sound of scratches on the perch and the flutter of feathers as a ‘yes.’

“Here you go, then.” He opened the window again, and stood aside as the two owls headed out into the evening. He couldn’t help but feel a little pang of jealousy as he thought about how good it feels to be up in the air with the wind in your face.

 

\------^^^^------

 

The next morning Jamie woke to the sound of an owl at the window. It was Gawain, and he was back with a package. When Jamie untied it he realized there were two letters inside, one for him and one for Albus. He set Al’s aside and unrolled his.

When he opened it he was looking at unfamiliar writing. The automatic quill that Williams had given Scorpius didn’t write with Scorp’s handwriting… there were some similarities, but it was also kind of impersonal. It didn’t have the pressure points and smudges where Scorp should naturally pause to think causing the ink to pool up. This script was smooth and even throughout, mechanical. The words, though, they were all Scorp, and even though it wasn’t the same as Scorpius being there it felt good to be in direct contact with him. The previous week had been a long one.

_Dear Jamie,_

_You were right. My dad did know about the rumors. McGonagall owled him and fire-called. I believe she tried to assure him that steps were being taken to quiet things down, but he was still obviously upset. He spent a lot of the evening mumbling to himself. I think he forgets that I’m blind but not deaf. In any case, there’s not much we can do about it at the moment._

_In other news, Lin – is it strange for me to call him that? I’m having a more and more difficult time classifying him now that he and my dad are a more definite ‘thing’ – in any case, Professor Williams talked to Theodore Nott, and he is working on a counter for the curse. Apparently it’s some kind of dark magic that is supposed to burn you from the inside… I’m extremely glad that didn’t happen … but Nott thinks it was blocked by the amulet, my counter-curse and maybe by the wand itself._

_So, Nott’s coming over Tuesday to do a little research in our library and pick up the amulet for closer study. The Malfoy library still has a number of dark texts that weren’t transferred to the Ministry Library which he wants to consult. It seems interesting, and I was wondering if you might want to, or be able to, come and see what he’s doing. It seems like the kind of thing you’d like – maybe you can convince Finch-Fletchley and/or Williams that it would be a valuable educational experience? (Not to mention that it would mean I wouldn’t have to wait as long to see you again, metaphorically speaking)._

_Other than that, there’s not much to say. I’m going to spend tomorrow trying to catch up on school work and working on my wandless skills. I’m also probably going to have to try to fit in at least an hour’s worth of exercise. Estie made blackberry apple crumble for dinner, and I am going to turn into a wobbly pudding person if I don’t take concerted steps._

_You were also right about that talk with my dad. It was a bit unpleasant, and even though you’d think that not having to look at someone while you were having that discussion would make it easier, it was, perversely, much more difficult. Because I have nothing else to look at, all I could do was sit there and hear his voice. Merlin, it was awkward… for him and for me. I might have to suggest that he tap Doxie as a surrogate next time. Getting another version of ‘the talk’ can’t be worse if it comes from an elf, can it?_

_Even as cringe-inducing as that conversation was, the events that prompted it were definitely worth it. I would absolutely do it again. In fact, I plan to - just as soon as is remotely possible. We just need to figure out how. Waking up with you is one of my top two or three things in the world now, and my bed still smells like you. It’ll make it just that much easier later when I wank off thinking of you. (Yes, that is what that sensation was)._

_Well, I should wrap things up now. I have things to do…_

_Love,_

_Scorpius_

Jamie smiled as he rolled up the letter and tucked it in his desk. He’d noticed the sensation coming from the amulet last night and was pretty sure he knew what it was. In fact, it motivated him into a little revisit of their morning activities on his end, too.

He quickly dashed off an answer regarding his interest in going to the Manor on Tuesday for the meeting with Nott. He’d just have to persuade Williams and Finch-Fletchley that it was a good idea. He was fairly sure he could do that.

 

\------^^^^------

 

Jamie was right. It wasn’t hard to convince Finch-Fletchley and Williams that tagging along on Tuesday would be a good idea, but it did take a little more finagling to get McGonagall to agree to his unscheduled trip off campus. In the end, he was fairly sure that the ‘Harry Potter’ card was the deciding factor even though his Headmistress would swear she’d been swayed by the very strong argument provided by her staff. The only downside, which actually wasn’t a downside, is that Jamie was going to have to work it into the post-NEWT work he was doing for Charms to finish up the year. It was work he would have had to do anyway, and getting an up close look at curse breaking was a lot more interesting than a purely academic exercise.

When he and Williams excited the floo network at the Manor just after lunch, Doxie was waiting for them. “Just this way, sirs, the others are in the library.”

As they followed the elf through the house toward the library Jamie had to stifle a small laugh thinking about poor Doxie being saddled with Scorpius’ next ‘talk’ about their activities. He didn’t think it’d be fair to saddle him with that task. They’d just have to be more cautious in the future, or he’d have to figure out a way to make considerable inroads with Mr. Malfoy.

Scorpius and his dad were at the far end of the library, huddled over a book and a stack of parchment with a slim and slightly ruffled looking man who Jamie assumed must be Nott.

The man looked up. “Oh, hello. Professor Williams, and you must be Jamie.”

Jamie nodded and walked the length of the long table in the center of the room to reach the man’s extended hand, “And you’re the Curse Breaker, Theodore Nott.”

“That’s right.” He half-smiled. “So, since you’re here to learn, why don’t you come around here and take a look. I was just explaining what I’ve come up with so far.”

They leaned over the paperwork and Nott began to explain to Jamie the process he’d used to narrow down the set of spells that might have caused Scorpius’ condition. “Now, we’re at the stage where we need to come up with a sequence of interventions we can use to reverse the damage.”

“And you do that by reverse engineering the process that ended with Scorp….” Jamie didn’t quite finish the sentence.

“Not exactly. You have to know the process and all the elements that went into the current situation, but when you’re talking about something like this… interactions can cause effects that aren’t necessarily undone by simply reversing the spells. That’s why we have to really know the nature of Scorpius’ current state. The thing you’re really trying to do is find a charm, spell or potion, or a sequence or combination of charms, spells and potions, that will change him from the state he’s in now into the desired state, but at the same time you need to make sure you’re not going to cause any additional unintended effects.”

“And the same would hold for an object?” Jamie asked.

“Exactly. Whether it’s a person, plant, animal or thing… it all works more or less the same.” He tilted his head. “However, when it’s a person we do generally execute the counter measures in hospital… just in case… sometimes things can go a little sideways. Healers are handy to have on hand.”

“Theo. That’s not exactly what we’re hoping to hear.” Draco quipped to his old schoolmate. “You might be used to this, but…”

“Right.” He returned to his core purpose, “In any case. I’m here today to do a little more research into the _incendium_ curse that was used. You can help out by looking through those.” Nott pointed to a stack of three tomes in the middle of the table which looked decidedly dusty. “Draco was kind enough to pull them out of his vault.”

“Will do.” Jamie settled himself down in a chair near the stack and began searching through the books to see what he could find of the curse. A moment later, Scorpius came and sat down to Jamie’s left with his own materials.

“What you working on there?” He whispered.

“I’m doing a little research on the amulets.” He smiled, and Jamie felt Scorp’s fingers which had reached under the table and were softly stroking the inside of Jamie’s thigh.

“I guess the readers are working?” He looked at Scorpius, who was wearing the ‘sexy librarian’ glasses.

“Perfectly. And, it’s fortunate you designed them so that I only need one hand to use them.” He smirked a little and Jamie’s stomach did a little flip. Mr. Malfoy, Professor Williams and Nott were only about twenty feet away… but sexy, flirty librarian Scorpius was so….

“Hot.” Jamie murmured aloud.

“Hummm?” Scorpius asked.

“Those glasses. They are every bit as hot on you as I hoped.” Jamie reached down to Scorpius’ hand and lifted it onto the table. “I’m having trouble reading….”

“I think that was the idea.” He said as his fingers whispered across Jamie’s palm and down to his fingertips.

Jamie laughed, “I know it was, and believe me, I’m enjoying it, but we do only have a few hours… And, I am, theoretically here to work and learn.”

Jamie watched a sly smile spread across Scorpius face, “Am I rubbing off on you Jamie Potter?”

“Did you really just say that?” Jamie half laughed and half groaned as they both turned back to their work.

A little over an hour later, Jamie’d found a few passages on the incendium spell he thought might be relevant, and took them over to Nott. They were looking through them when Nott looked up and suddenly grabbed Jamie’s amulet which had slipped out from under his shirt.

“What is this?” He asked.

“It’s my amulet.” Jamie answered, confused.

“There are two?” He looked from Jamie to Scorpius and back.  
“Ummmm, yes.” Jamie answered, looking at Nott’s expression of irritation, “You didn’t know that?”

“No.” Nott scratched behind his ear. “Salazar, that’s annoying. Well…” He looked back up at Jamie, and Jamie drew back under his sharp gaze. “They’re bound?”

“Yes, we linked them. They kind of communicate. We get a feel for each other’s emotions through them.” Jamie explained as Nott leaned close and examined the amulet.

“Well.” He let the amulet drop back to Jamie’s chest and backed away. “I’ll need to take a look at your piece, as well.”

“Oh.”

“What are you doing this weekend?”

“Studying, mostly. NEWTS, you know.”

“Right. Well, if you’re interested you could come to my lab and we could take a look at them both. I have some equipment there that might be of interest… You and Scorpius could both come.” Nott looked over at Scorpius. “I’m sure he’d enjoy getting out of the house.”

Jamie nodded, intrigued by the idea of Nott’s lab. “I’d love to. I’ll just have to clear it with school, and Scorpius will have to decide for himself. I’d be surprised if he said no, though.”

“Very good” Nott voiced his approval, “That way we’ll tackle both at once. I might want to get some readings from the two of you, as well….” He tapped his fingers on the table. “This will do well.” His head popped up and looked at Jamie, “It’s fortunate you were here. I can’t imagine why no one mentioned the pairing.”

Jamie just lifted his eyebrows and shrugged, not having anything to say about that, then directed Nott’s attention back to the passages from the grimoire he’d been working through.

By the time dinner rolled around Jamie was fairly certain he couldn’t read another word. They’d spent the entire afternoon in the library, and Jamie was ready for a break. He was so ready for a break he realized he was considering sharing dinner with Draco Malfoy to be a relaxing and enjoyable change of pace.

As it happened, dinner was very pleasant. Nott and Williams had a number of interesting stories to share, and they were both sufficiently interested in one another’s experiences that they kept pushing for more and more outlandish tales. At one point Jamie looked around the table and noticed everyone was smiling and laughing.

After dinner Draco, Lin and Nott retired to the library to pull together Nott’s work while Jamie and Scorpius were granted a few minutes of privacy before Jamie had to floo back to school. They stood in the drawing room by the hearth and tried to think of things to say when all they really wanted to do was not talk.

Jamie watched the light from the fire flicker across Scorpius’ face and reached out to feel the warmed skin on his cheek. “I miss you.” He sighed.

“Me, too.” Scorpius pulled Jamie a little closer. “We’ll see each other this weekend, right?”

“Yeah, and I have the whole weekend. No quidditch for Gryffindor.”

Scorpius smiled. “Good…. That means maybe two mornings.”

“If we can…” Jamie brought their lips together, moving slowly so that he could breathe in a little bit of Scorpius’ breath while their faces were close.

Scorpius smiled, “I think my dad’s warming to you, you know.”

“I hope so.” He answered, arching his neck a bit as Scorpius gave it a nip. Jamie returned the favor and was rewarded with one of his favorite of Scorpius’ happy sounds, a little gaspy moan he reserved for just this particular activity. He moved to nibble Scorp’s ear and felt Scorpius pull him closer.

Scorpius took Jamie by the chin and moved to kiss him on the mouth. Jamie felt a little thrill tickle down his spine as Scorpius asserted himself, pulling Jamie in hard and biting him a bit on the lip to get him to open his mouth. Scorp’s tongue was aggressive, and Jamie found himself enjoying the sensation of being led, the feeling that Scorpius wanted to consume him entirely and was having to satisfy his hunger with just his mouth… and hands.

Those same hands were making their way toward Jamie’s cock when there was a loud cough. Jamie turned and flushed bright red. Mr. Malfoy had arrived in the room with Williams and Nott, both of whom were ready to leave for the evening.

“Oh. Dad… “ Scorpius started, “Umm. Well, I guess you’ll be going now?” Scorpius said in Jamie’s direction.

Jamie couldn’t help but let out a little bit of a laugh, “Looks that way.” Then he turned toward Mr. Malfoy, Wiliams and Nott. “Thank you all for having me this afternoon. I really appreciate it. It was incredibly interesting.”

“You’re welcome.” Nott answered on their behalf.

Jamie was about to leave when Mr. Malfoy moved toward him. “Oh, Jamie, before you go. I have something for you.” He handed Jamie a small package. “It’s just a little something I thought you’d like.”

“Oh, thank you, Sir.” He said, perhaps with a little surprise.

“Of course. Well…” Draco continued, “Have a good night.” He reached out and shook Jamie’s hand.

After that Jamie gave Scorpius a quick kiss and then tossed the floo powder into the flames.

Scorpius listened to the crack and flare as Jamie, Williams and Nott all disappeared into the hearth.

 

\------^^^^------

 

When Jamie got back to his dorm that night he opened the package from Mr. Malfoy. It was a framed picture of Scorpius with the readers Jamie’d made for him. Jamie smiled as he watched Scorpius tip his head toward the book concentrating as the readers worked. Then the Scorpius in the picture curled his tongue on his lip just the way he always did when he was reading.

Maybe he was growing on Mr. Malfoy, after all.


	22. Whatever's Ailing You, There's Probably A Cure.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Albus spends a little "friend time" with Scorpius, and Jamie and Scorp go to Nott's Lab/Workshop to learn about Scorp's situation... And, there's a picnic.

Scorpius was deep in “A Comprehensive Guide to Elixirs” when he heard the sound of Doxie padding down the hallway followed by a knock on his bedroom door.

“Yes,” his head popped up and he turned toward the door, “I’m just reading. Come in.”

“Master Scorpius, a note has come for you… from Hogwarts, I believe.”

“Thank you, Doxie. Just bring it here.” The little elf ambled over to where Scorpius was seated with his reading and passed him the rolled up piece of parchment.

Scorpius undid the lace and activated his readers. “It’s from Albus.”

“Oh. Is something the matter?”

“What makes you ask that?” Scorpius asked.

“Well, you’re wearing a bit of a concerned look.” Doxie answered.

Scorpius’ furrowed brow turned into a happily resigned smile. “I suppose you know me well enough to know my expressions by now…” He paused for a moment and then answered Doxie’s initial question. “It’s nothing serious, but he’s not feeling himself, I think. He broke up with his girlfriend.”

“Oh…” Doxie sighed, and Scorpius wondered how long it had been since Doxie had to think about matters of the heart. As far as he’d ever known them, Doxie and Estie had been a pair. He knew they had a daughter who lived and worked at a cottage hospital in Shropshire, but she’d never lived at the Manor because Doxie and Estie had come to live with his family after the war, after their own daughter had grown and found employment of her own.

Scorpius’ musings about Doxie’s personal history were interrupted when the elf offered an idea, “Why don’t you invite Master Albus for dinner tomorrow? Maybe he just needs a change of scenery.... Sometimes, even a few hours away can take your mind off things.”

“That’s an excellent idea. I’ll ask Father and have him make the arrangements… if he agrees.”

“I don’t think you have much to worry about.” Doxie answered, tilting his head and looking at Scorpius while wondering when the last time was that Master Draco had denied Master Scorpius anything.

 

\------^^^^-------

 

As soon as Albus had finished adding the final ingredients to the flobberworm media he quickly put everything away and tore back to his dorm to change for the afternoon. He was due at the Manor in thirty minutes and he didn’t want to be late. Even though Mr. Malfoy would still be at work, the idea of being late to his home, even if he wasn’t there, made Albus nervous and prickly.

He was nearly to McGonagall’s office when he ran face first into Vic Crabbe and Emma Smith. Actually, he only really ran into Vic, but from Emma’s expression anyone would have thought he’d barreled into her first and hardest.

“Oh.” Albus grabbed his bag, “I’m sorry. You okay?”

Vic sneered rather than answer the question. Then, while Emma stood to the side with an icy glare, Vic asked “And where are you off to, Potter?”

“I’m due at McGonagall’s.” Albus answered beginning to turn to go.

“Of course you are.” Vic continued with what could only be interpreted as an accusatory tone.

“I’m not really sure I know what you mean by that. Anyway… Sorry again.”

“Right. Must be nice.” Vic mumbled under his breath as Albus walked away.

Albus really had no idea what Crabbe was on about, but ever since the dustup in Hogwarts that weekend it seemed like there was a small but dedicated crew of students who’d decided that Albus, Jamie and Scorpius were up to something or somehow benefitting from some unspoken preference. It was annoying as hell, and made Albus’ stomach clench. Between that and his continued thoughts about Phoebe he was feeling very unmoored.

_Merlin, I’m going to be glad to see Scorpius._

 

\------^^^^------

 

Scorpius was pacing, or rather he was still pacing. He’d been walking back and forth in front of the hearth for the last twenty-five minutes. He knew that Albus wouldn’t make it to the Manor any earlier than four-thirty, if he was lucky, but he was so eager to see him he’d set up in the drawing room early. Of course, Albus was running late.

Albus’ letter had worried him, even if he’d assured Doxie it hadn’t. Reading between the lines Scorpius was fairly certain that Albus was not best self at the moment and he didn’t want to see him fall into one of his moods. It had been more than a year since ‘the incident’ as they’d called it, and in that time Albus had been happier and more confident than Scorpius ever remembered him being. It was as if after ‘the incident’ Albus had finally come to believe that he was the person Scorpius always knew he was, but in the last letter…

He pushed the thought out of his mind and resolved to just have fun and spend time with his friend. His lips curled up with a little smile as he thought about some of the things he had planned for the afternoon.

The whoosh and snap of the floo interrupted his thoughts, and he turned to be pulled into a big Albus-hug.

“Sorry I’m a little late.” Albus apologized. “I got caught in the dorm and then ran into a little delay on my way to McGonagall’s.”

“Delay?” Scorpius perked up an eyebrow in question.

“Crabbe and Smith.” Albus answered with a little grimace. “I don’t really know what their deal is… I mean other than being friends with Kris… They’re just so.” Albus shook his head. “They just make me really edgy. I don’t like them.”

“Well. Aside from the one time… _not naming any names…_ your judgement about people is normally pretty good. If they bother you, you’re probably wise to steer clear.” Scorpius turned to head out of the drawing room. “Come on. We’ll drop your bag in my room, and then head outside.”

“Outside?” Albus asked.

“Yes. We’re going to play ‘catch’” Scorpius smiled.

It was just a few minutes later that Albus found himself out on the South Lawn while having a large, brown pocket of leather with fingers being placed over his left hand.

“This is a mitt.” Scorpius explained.

“A mitt?” Albus asked holding his hand, now sheathed in the leathery object, in front of his face and alternately inspecting the front and back, wondering what use it might possibly have.

“You use it to catch this.” Scorpius explained holding up an apple-sized, white ball.

“And you do this...” Albus asked, incredulous, “without being able to see?”

“Yeah.” Scorpius smiled a very sly smile and perked his eyebrows up as if to say ‘I bet you’re impressed, huh?’

“Well… I’ll believe it when I see it…. Anyway, whose idea was this?” Albus was bobbing his left arm and moving his hand around trying to figure out what he was supposed to be doing with his heavily gloved hand.

“Lin…. I mean Professor Williams. It’s from a game they play in the States… baseball” Scorpius explained. “He thought it would help develop my skills… and it’s something to do besides read, write essays, and work out in the gym.”

“Well, okay.” Albus figured the worst thing that could happen was that he might bean his best friend in the face with the ball. If he could avoid that, they’d probably fare just fine.

“Just run out about thirty feet or so and give me a wave.” Scorpius instructed. “I’ll toss you the ball. Then you just toss it back….” He gave the ball a little toss up and then caught it on the decent. “It’s easy.”

“Says you. Remember, I’m shite at sports.” Albus laughed as he jogged out about thirty feet from where Scorpius stood.

He turned and gave a little waive of his gloved hand, and Scorpius tossed him the ball. It worked, and Albus actually managed to catch the ball… after a fashion. He managed to get the ball to hit into the center of the glove and then trap the ball with his left hand. Since he didn’t drop it, he supposed that counted.

“See.” Scorpius said. “I told you.”

“How the hell do you do that?” Albus asked.

“I’m getting a lot better at sensing out the distances. What’s going on on in the air and what surfaces are out there.”

“Seeing without seeing.” Albus finished.

“After a fashion, although it’s a long way from seeing.” Scorpius shrugged and called out to Albus, “So… toss it back.”

“Oh… Right!” Albus tossed the ball, somewhat gently, in Scorpius’ direction, and Scorpius easily caught the ball by letting the fingers of the glove close around the ball when it landed in his palm.

“Huh. Okay, that is pretty cool.” Albus had to admit. Scorpius could actually catch an object coming at him. It was kind of amazing. “And… you can’t see anything.”

“Nope… or at least not in the way people normally see. I can feel the object coming in my direction and that helps me ‘see’ it after a fashion.” He explained as he tossed the ball back to Albus.

Albus tossed the ball back, still gently, and waited for Scorpius to return the ball his way. They kept on like that for a while, and Albus was happy to find it was actually pretty relaxing. He could let his mind clear and just focus on the rhythm of catching the ball and sending it back to Scorpius.

“Don’t say anything, but you’re better at this than my dad.” Scorpius confided.

“Really?”

“Yeah… I think he doesn’t really remember that I can tell when he messes up, and he can’t throw the ball very well. About a third of the time it goes wildly off course, to the left or right or nearly straight down into the ground. He doesn’t have much of a sense for the release. He says a silent _accio_ to retrieve the ball, and I pretend like I don’t know.”

Albus laughed a little, “At least he’s trying.” He tossed the ball back again.

“Yeah. It’s actually kind of nice being here. Even though we spend the summer and holidays together, I don’t get to just spend time with him much. I think he likes having me here.”

“Of course he does. You’re good to have around.” Albus observed as he caught the ball and took a closer look at it.

“So, is this all there is to this game?” Albus asked, tossing the ball back toward Scorpius, a little harder this time.

“No. Apparently there are four bases that are spread out in a diamond around a field and the gameplay involves players hitting this ball with wooden bats.”

“Huh.” Albus wondered about that. “So, no brooms, then.”

“Nope..” Scorpius laughed, “No brooms.”

“Good to know.”Albus tossed the ball back to Scorpius again. “I wonder if they’ll play this when I’m in America this summer?”

“I guess it’s possible. I know that the Americans also have a game they play on broomstick with things that look like small brooms but have nets at the end.”

“Oh right. I think I’ve seen that…. What do they call that, again?”

“I’m not sure… it’s something like deccabu, I think.” While Scorpius was perfectly happy to talk about random American sports and toss the ball back and forth, he had been hoping that Albus might get around to talking about whatever was on his mind.

He was just about to give up on this particular approach when he heard Albus take a breath in.

“I’m not sure if I should have broken up with Phoebe.” He started.

“Oh?” Scorpius knew to keep his interjections to a minimum when Albus was finally ready to talk so that he didn’t get sidelined.

“Or... I guess I kind of miss her, and I’m not sure if it’s just that I miss being around someone or … if I miss her specifically.”

“Hummm…” Scorpius left some space just in case Albus was going to say anything else, but it seemed like he was looking for Scorpius to speak now. “Well, things have been kind of upended lately…”

“Right. I mean, I’m not sleeping in our room. I’m still with Carlos and Yann, which is kind of wearing thin. You’re going to laugh, but Yann’s a slob…. I don’t think I realized how much I was used to a neat space.”

“Wait.” Scorpius stopped and dropped his hands to his hips. “Wait just one minute. Is Albus Potter saying that he actually recognizes the benefits of a tidy room?” Scorpius couldn’t believe Albus might be conceding this, and needed to get it officially on record. “Because I won’t forget this.”

“It’s true.” Albus laughed, “Even I have my limit. Plus, they both play quidditch… and practice a lot… and they’re not nearly as conscientious as you are about keeping things clean. It’s kind of rank.”

Scorpius was suddenly very glad he was drunk the last time he was in Carlos and Yann’s room.

Albus started again, “Anyway, maybe I just miss having someone around to talk with.” He looked over at Scorpius who was worrying his lip a little. “Oh, not that I think you… I just hadn’t realized how much time I’d been spending with her. Now that she’s not around…”

“Yeah. It’s weird… change.” Scorpius thought about how difficult the first handful of days had been at the Manor. Then he thought back to Albus. “Well, do you think you’d do anything differently. I mean if you could get back together?”

“I don’t know… I’m not really sure… It’s not like there was anything specific… We just kind of… ran out of steam.”

“Well… I don’t know. I think that if there was really something other not knowing what’s next, you’d know what it was… at least have some idea... You’d feel it,… definitely.” Scorpius was thinking about how he felt when he thought things might be over with Jamie in contrast to how he felt when he and Carlos broke things off. One hurt like a big gaping hole and the other just felt uncertain.

“Maybe…. You’re right, I think. I mean, I miss you way more than I miss her… Not that I think you shouldn’t be here, recuperating.” Albus was kicking at the grass with his toe, not really knowing what he was supposed to say in this situation.

“I know what you mean. I miss you, too, and school, and all of it. It’s strange being here during the school year, rumbling around alone most of the day… I mean, thank Merlin you and Jamie have both come to visit… but… I don’t know. I’m not sure how long I can go without going back to school. Sight or no sight I’m not sure I’m going to be able to stick it out beyond the Easter break.”

“Do you really want to do that?” Albus asked skeptically. “They are starting… I mean, there are people…”

“I know. The whole ‘Son of Voldemort’ thing again.” Scorpius shrugged. “I hated that before, but I managed, and it’s not like I’d be alone. You’re there.”

“And Jamie”

“Right, and Jamie… and Rose, and Carlos and Yann, and the rest of our friends. We do have them now, you know.” Scorpius reminded Albus that their situation wasn’t the same as it had been the year before.

“Yeah…” Albus took a breath and noticed he was starting to feel a little less heavy than he’d felt that morning.

“Did Jamie tell you we’re going to see the Curse Breaker on Saturday, Theodore Nott?” Scorpius asked, adding “Do you want to come?”

“Oh, no… I mean, yes he said that Nott was here and that he’d invited you both over to take a look at your amulets and see his lab… but no, I can’t come. Hagrid has a delivery of meliadidids coming on Saturday, and I told him I’d help.”

“That sounds kind of interesting. What’s he doing with them?” Scorpius couldn’t even imagine.

“Actually, I’m not sure. You know Hagrid. Sometimes he just lines things up before he has any idea what he’s doing. He just gets so excited by the idea of it…”

Scorpius laughed, “I know. He probably should have been a zookeeper. There’s not nearly enough space at school for the collection he’d like to build.”

“I don’t know about that.” Albus started thinking, “I mean, if you re-worked some of the land between the path to Hogsmeade and the lake, there’s room for quite a few demonstration zones. If I were…”

“If you were…” Scorpius tilted his head. This was the first he’d ever really heard Albus talk about something so future oriented, at least beyond what he’d like to do at University. He suddenly had the oddest feeing that Albus might actually teach someday…

 

\-----^^^^-------

 

Jamie was just rounding a corner on his way to the library when he heard hushed voices in the alcove up ahead. He was in a section of the castle that was a little less trafficked than the main halls because he’d taken a shortcut from the quidditch pitch to try to return a book before it became overdue.

The first voice was Becca Rookwood, “He just goes on and on. Honestly, I know it makes mum happy, but I’m not sure how much longer I can go on with this.” Jamie wasn’t sure, but he assumed Becca was complaining about Kris, whom she’d been seeing since some time before the Christmas break… He suspected that she was the reason he’d broken things off with Jenny Martin.

“Becs, he’s just having a hard time. He’s got a lot on his plate, plus with his aunt…” That was Emma Smith, Becca’s cousin.

“Em, you can’t be serious. You know…” Then Becca stopped, not finishing her thought out loud.

“I know, but he doesn’t… I’m just saying from his side. It’s… difficult.”

“More so for him.” Becca sighed with impatience. “It would be so much easier if he just thought less and focused more on making me happy.” Jamie nearly gagged. He knew Becca thought quite a bit of herself, but – wow – he actually felt sorry for Kris.

“Becs, if you weren’t my beloved cousin…”

“What?” Jamie could hear Becca tossing her hair and rolling her eyes.

“You can just be a little hard to take sometimes, that’s all.”

“Maybe, but I’m also the one who makes things happen. It’s always good to be on my side.” Jamie could have sworn there was an edge of a threat in there, even if the line was delivered with a laugh.

He heard them moving and quickly retreated down the hall so that he could pretend he’d just come along. He did a quick stutter step and faked a jog that led him to nearly run into the cousins as they pulled out of the alcove where they’d been huddled.

“Potter.” Becca said flatly.

“Oh, sorry Becca… Emma…”

“You know you need to slow down a little. You’re lucky we saw you.” Emma pointed out.

“Oh?” Jamie realized quickly she didn’t mean earlier, just in that moment. “Right. Sorry, I’m just... I need to get this back to the Reserve Room.”

“Because you can’t cover the late fee?” Becca asked in a tone that implied she knew the Potters had plenty of money to cover a few late fees.

“No. Because I don’t like to be late. Someone else might need this.”

“So thoughtful, you are, Jamie Potter.” Jamie thought Becca sounded like she was hissing and wondered how it was that she’d been sorted into Ravenclaw and not Slytherin. “Come on Emma. Let’s not hold Jamie up.”

“Thanks… Anyway, sorry again.” Jamie offered as he gave a hop and headed off to the library to return his book.

If Scorp had been there, he would have gone to see Scorpius about what he’d heard. However, he wasn’t. So, Jamie figured the next option was probably Professor Williams.

 

\------^^^^-------

 

“Well, I talked to Williams about it, and he’s talking to Dad. Williams thinks it’s possible that Emma and Becca know something about Professor Mexborough.”

“Really? What do you think?” Scorp asked.

“I guess it’s possible. I really wouldn’t put anything past Becca, and what she does, Emma’s going to follow. They’ve always kind of been that way.”

Jamie looked up at the street signs and realized they needed to make a turn.

It was a sunny Saturday morning and they were making their way through muggle London to find the location of Theodore Nott’s workshop. Apparently, he was big into secrecy and had leased a building in St. John’s Wood that wasn’t attached to the floo network. You had to approach by foot.

Jamie didn’t mind very much, though, because the trip gave Scorpius and him an excuse for some ‘just Scorpius and Jamie’ time, which was running in short supply lately. They’d also had an excuse to use the underground, which Jamie knew Scorp would enjoy. And, did he ever. He was like a first year at Honeydukes. He insisted that Jamie fully explain the history and extent of the system, a task for which Jamie had not prepared, and then, when Jamie told him about the little kiosks the news agents had at the entrances, he cajoled Jamie into purchasing some candy.

“It’s nine in the morning.” Jamie complained, “Isn’t that a bit early?”

“It’s never too early for chocolate. Besides, it’s research. I need to know how their snack foods are similar to and different from ours. It may be on my OWLs.”

“I really don’t think they’ll have an essay on comparing the relative qualities of muggle vs. wizarding confectionery.” Jamie laughed before purchasing a selection from the stand.

All in all, it was shaping up to be a good day, and for Jamie it was fun just blending into the crowd and weaving through the Saturday shopping traffic.

As they wound their way through Nott’s neighborhood, Jamie came back to the present and pulled out the invitation Nott provided so they could find the exact address. The building was cloaked with a very strong set of wards and charms to make it so unnoticeable and unremarkable as to be completely invisible to anyone other than those expressly invited by the owner.

Jamie looked down at the invite and up at a door that both was and wasn’t there. “Looks like we’re here.”

They ascended a trio of steps to the stoop, and Jamie pressed the ringer as instructed. Just as the box on the wall began to emit sound, static followed by Mr. Nott’s voice, a dark haired man in a long, woolen coat emerged from the building. There was something so familiar about him, or maybe just his eyes. Jamie wasn’t sure.

“Hello…” Nott’s voice rang out, expecting a response.

“Yes,” Scorpius jumped in, realizing Jamie wasn’t answering. “It’s us, Jamie and Scorpius.”

Jamie was still watching the man when Scorpius responded, and would have sworn he stopped for just a half a moment upon hearing their names. Jamie was jarred from his thoughts at the sound of Nott again.

“Well then, come in. I’m just upstairs.”

The door opened to reveal a long staircase and a hallway, and Jamie and Scorpius proceeded to the second floor, as instructed. When they arrived there, they found a dark green door. Not having any other instruction they opened it.

Jamie’s jaw nearly dropped open. It was beyond comprehension. Nott had opened up the entire second floor of the building and the space, which also appeared to have been magically extended, was filled from floor to ceiling with shelving and tables and work stations in every direction. There were bits and pieces from every conceivable type of gadget, from kitchen appliances and grooming aids to weaponry and surveillance equipment. Jamie wasn’t sure if there was an item that had ever been magically constructed from which Nott didn’t have a piece in his workshop.

“Jamie, Scorpius… Over here.” They heard a voice from their left and Jamie started to head over when he noticed Scorpius hanging back.

“What is it?” Jamie asked Scorpius.

“Can you help me out… Lend me a hand?” Scorpius asked looking a bit worried. “There’s so much in here. It’s a little overwhelming.”

“Oh, right. I bet.” He walked back and slipped Scorpius’ hand into his. “You know I’m never going to complain about this.” He whispered as he gave Scorp's hand a little squeeze and began to lead them through the maze of shelves and tables.

Eventually, they reached Nott who was clearing some space on a table near some windows on the far side of the floor.

“Come on over.” He waved them in. “So, let’s get started, why don’t we. Who wants to give up their amulet first?”

Scorpius moved to pull his off. “Why don’t we start with mine? It’s probably got the most going on, right?”

“Indeed.” Nott pulled out an instrument that looked like a larger than normal magnifying lens propped between two articulating brass arms. He took the amulet from Scorpius and placed it under the lens, adjusting the arms until the lens was about six inches above the amulet.

“Jamie, why don’t you come over here so that you can take a look? Scorpius, I’ll describe what I’m doing so you can follow along, as well.” Then Nott pulled the shades so that the area was dimmed.

Jamie leaned in and watched as Nott pulled out his wand and cast a spell. Jamie was pretty sure Nott said something like “ _Excorio Incantatum_ ” before he started gently pulling out what looked like little pieces of filmy mist from the amulet which could only be seen by looking through the lens. Nott placed each small piece in a separate vial containing some kind of liquid and kept working, leaning in and peering through the magnifier to see all the small threads of spells that could be pulled from Scorp’s amulet.

Nott explained the process as he went along, “The _exorium_ spell allows me to peel off each piece of magic that’s layered on and within an object. As I remove each, I drop them in a solution, just water really, but I’ve charmed it so that the spell can dissolve.”

“Then what?” Jamie asked.

“Then, I’ll take a sample from each and test it on this parchment.” He shook a piece of parchment on his left, “and each spell will reveal itself.”

“Is it normal, for there to be so many in an object?” Jamie asked, watching Nott work to untangle something that looked particularly embedded in the pendant.

“Yes and no. This is a fairly old object… It’s had three centuries to collect spells. Also, the spells don’t necessarily have to have been originated by or fired directly at the wearer. We’re absorbing magic all the time, albeit in small amounts, so some of what you see here is simply incidental.”

“How do you know what matters and what doesn’t?” Scorpius asked… “I mean if there’s both direct and incidental magic?”

“Well, it depends on the amount of the residue and also the strength of the spell.” Nott answered.

After nearly a half hour of work, Nott appeared to have reached the end of things. He sighed and shoved his sleeves back up above his elbows, and pulled out a last piece of film from the pendant.

“I believe this is the original charm. The protection placed there by the first owners.” He moved the magnifier to the side to make space for the parchment.

“Now, I’m going to place samples of each spell on the prepared parchment and after about fifteen minutes it’ll be developed enough that we can see what we’ve retrieved.” Nott looked around. “Oh… Just a moment.”

He walked over to a nearby cabinet and returned with a tumbler filled with little white sticks that seemed to have small balls of cotton on them.

“What are those?” Jamie asked.

“These?” Nott held one up.. “These are a muggle tool. They’re called cotton swabs… I find them handy. I just give them a strong scourgify to make sure they’re sterile and store them in that MFZ cabinet, and they seem to be ideal for this kind of thing.”

Nott started with the samples that were first pulled from Scorpius’ amulet and worked his way down the sheet, which Jamie noticed had been marked off in a grid. Liquid from each sample was placed in a single numbered square in the grid, and when Nott was done he placed the entire piece of parchment in another cabinet that looked a bit like a map or document drawer.

“Now that we have that one done, why don’t we work on yours, Jamie?” Nott returned Scorpius’ amulet, and took Jamie's in hand.

After another half hour, Jamie’s was done, as well. When he went to place Jamie’s grid of spells in the drawer he removed the one with the samples from Scorpius’ amulet and brought it back over to the workspace.

He pulled out a large portfolio and unlaced the fastener to expose several pages of parchment. “This is Scorpius’ casework.” Nott said, answering Jamie's unspoken question.

“Okay, let’s see what we have here.” Nott began to look at the spells listed on the sheet and take notes, reaching into his collection of drawings and papers from Scorpius’ file and mumbling to himself things like “I see. Yes, that makes sense… Oh…”

After a few minutes he began to point things out to Jamie and explain to Scorpius. “Here is the most recent spell, it’s a _sentire_.”

“What’s that?” Scorpius asked.

“That may be one you don’t realize you’re casting. It’s what you’re doing when you’re sensing out the dimensions of space with your mind. In essence, you’re casting it without words… It’s part of your wandless magic.” Nott explained.

“Oh.” Scorpius was incredibly curious about that, but didn’t want to waylay their work and figured he could talk with Lin later about it.

“Here’s the spell that caused the damage, the incendio internem” Nott pointed to one of the squares on the sheet.

“And, here’s the charm you used to connect the two.” Nott pointed out to another one of the grids with script inside. “That’s clever…” he remarked to himself.

“Ah….” Nott was looking at the last square now, the one with the initial charm that was placed on the pendants. “Well, that explains things…”

“Care to share?” Jamie asked, looking at Nott with some impatience. If they were this close, he wanted to know and he knew Scorpius did, too.

“Well, we knew that they’d put some kind of barrier charm on the pendants to protect the wearer from burning.” Nott looked over at Scorpius, “Scorpius, you’d sent over the documentation you found yesterday, the one that showed the original owners were a pair of sisters who were suspected of witchcraft and likely feared being burned at the stake.” He gave a little shudder, “They did that kind of thing back then.”

“So, what we see here,” He pointed to the square on the grid, “Is evidence of a split or dual charm. It had more than one function. It protected the wearer from the burning, but it also had a back-up. If it couldn’t prevent the harm, it contained it. It locked it down to prevent wholesale damage.”

“So that, my boy,” Nott tapped Scorpius on the shoulder with a slightly inappropriate amount of enthusiasm, “Is why you’re currently blind… The spell is holding the _incendium_ in a stasis and it’s impeding your sight… I guess that’s a good news, bad news kind of thing.”

“So, what’s the good and the bad?” Jamie asked.

“The good is, we can undo that spell.”

“And the bad?” Scorpius asked.

“We need to be careful, or the spell will be released and you’ll be burned alive…” Nott answered and Jamie felt his insides twist.

“That sounds like bad news, mostly.” Scorpius said calmly. “Stick with blindness or face potentially painful death.”

Jamie thought Scorpius didn’t sound nearly as concerned as he felt. If anything, he seemed alarmingly casual about the whole thing. He felt himself getting a bit wound up when Scorpius continued talking. “I assume there’s more to this whole process than a coin flip.”

“Oh, definitely.” Nott jumped in, “I didn’t mean to alarm you. Now that I have a better idea about the remedy I’ll pull in a colleague, a healer, to help with the treatment plan. I can work on the spells we’ll need, and the healer will put together a plan to prepare you as well as any follow-up you need.”

“Okay.” Scorpius took a breath now, and Jamie realized the nonchalant approach was a bit of a façade. He was worried, and for some odd reason that reassured Jamie. Rational worry was something he could work with.

Nott coughed. “Why don’t we have a bit of tea. We’ve been at this a little while, and we can take a look at the results from Jamie, and run a quick diagnostic on Scorpius… then you’ll be on your way.”

Jamie nodded. Tea would be nice right about now. Something that felt normal would be nice. “Show me the way, and I’ll take care of it.”

“It’s just over there,” Nott said vaguely pointing toward the other side of the floor, “There’s a cabinet and a kettle… I think I have some biscuits in a tin over there, too.”

Jamie shrugged inwardly, apparently Nott wasn’t going to give him a lot of direction. He ventured off to make the tea and Nott and Scorpius stayed behind.

“Why don’t you do whatever diagnostics you mentioned? I assume there’s some kind of wand based reading.”

“Yes, pretty simple… Come with me” Nott held out his arm for Scorpius who laid a hand on it and followed Nott to yet another area of the floor where he was asked to hold still.

“So that you know, I have you standing in front of a large linen screen. I’m sure you’ve seen something similar at your regular trip to the healers. I’ll be performing a similar type of spell, but rather than capturing potential maladies, the spell will identify any magical impacts, marks or residual magic that’s in your body. It’s to ensure that we don’t inadvertently trigger an adverse effect with the treatment….” He positioned Scorpius and then backed away a bit. “Okay, this won’t hurt. It’s just going to tingle a bit. Are you ready?”

Scorpius nodded and Nott began. It did tingle, but it wasn’t unpleasant. The process gave Scorpius the distinct sensation that little bursts of energy were flowing through his body from front to back.

Just as Nott was finishing up, Jamie arrived with their tea and biscuits.

“Perfect timing.” Nott remarked. “Okay, we’re done now Scorpius. How do you like your tea?”

“A smidge of sugar and a drop of cream.” Scorpius confessed.

Jamie helped Scorpius to a seat while Nott filled his cup and handed it to Scorpius.

“How about you?” Nott asked Jamie.

“Nothing… I mean nothing in it. Just the tea.” Jamie answered.

“A purist.” Nott smiled, “Well, I wish I had slightly better tea to offer, then, but this will have to do.”

“I’m used to Hogwarts finest. So, I’m sure this will do perfectly.” Jamie smiled and took the cup and saucer in hand.

Nott passed around the biscuits which were simple shortbread, and they sipped and snacked in silence for a moment.

“So, you made the readers Scorpius is wearing?” Nott asked Jamie.

“Yes, Professor Finch-Fletchley helped with constructing the charm, though.” He answered.

“Well, from what I hear from Justin you have quite a knack for charms and spells. Do you tinker around with them much?” Nott asked.

“Not especially.” Jamie answered.

“That’s not true.” Scorpius countered. “You tinker around with them quite a bit… You just don’t realize that everyone else doesn’t. Tell him about the chewing gum… or your broom collection… or…”

“Chewing gum?” Nott asked.

“Well, I charmed some gum to work as an alarm.” Jamie shrugged, “It was fairly simple, actually.”

“Did it work?” Nott asked.

“Yeah, it did, actually.” Jamie smiled.

“Well, that’s the part that’s not so simple. It’s not the charms or spells that are the tricky part. It’s putting something together that works that’s the challenge.” Nott smiled back, “Fun, isn’t it?”

Suddenly, he clapped his hands together and stood up. “Well, why don’t I show you what the diagnostic shows?” He said pointing back to the linen screen which now was covered in symbols and words over what looked like a shadow in the shape of Scorpius.

 

\-----^^^^------

A couple of hours later Scorpius and Jamie were back outside, looking at a building that may or may not have been the same place they had spent the last three hours.

“That’s pretty effective.” Jamie remarked.

“I know. It’s like you know it’s there, but it’s not there at all. It’s totally interfering with my senses. The wand is completely confused. The readings are back and forth, like there’s a wall there, then there’s not, then it’s back again.”

“Right, it’s like you see something, but you don’t know what you’re looking at, really.” Jamie appraised the scene with not a small bit of envy. “I would love to be able to do something like that.”

“Something to aspire to, I guess.” Scorpius gave his arm a squeeze. “So, what now?”

“Humm… well, we don’t really have to be back until later in the afternoon. And, it’s so nice and warm and sunny…and I’m a bit hungry.” Jamie looked around. “I noticed a decent sized park or garden when we were walking here. Maybe we could just find a sandwich and a bench?”

“Sounds good. You lead the way.”

In short order, Jamie found his way to a café where they ordered three sandwiches, a couple of packets of crisps, and some water to go. Scorpius suggested more than two sandwich options just in case they didn’t like one of them. He couldn’t resist ordering the “Coronation Chicken” even though neither of them had ever tried it. They assumed it was a muggle concoction. So, they decided roast beef and cheese and tomato would serve as safety choices, depending on your taste.

In the end, they opted against finding a bench because they were all in the shade, and the grass was nice and dry.

“I’m not sure what I think about this” Scorpius concluded as he took his second bite of the chicken sandwich.

“Hey” Scorpius yowled as Jamie grabbed the sandwich to take a sample. “I didn’t say I didn’t want it.”

“Ummm….” Jamie made a noise while he evaluated the flavor. “I see what you mean. The curry and fruit is kind of odd, but appealing at the same time… are those nuts?”

“Give it back…” Scorpius held his hand out.

“No, here, take the other half, and I’ll just finish this one.” Jamie offered Scorpius the untouched other half of the sandwich.

“But then I’m having more… If you like it.”

“Consider it a gift. Besides, I’m sure I’ll come up with a way for you to repay me later.” Jamie said with a bit of a tease.

“I’m sure…” Scorpius paused for a moment. “Speaking of gifts… Your birthday’s coming up. Any hints?”

“Huh.” Jamie took a big breath. “You know, I really haven’t thought much about it... I don’t know.” And, it occurred to Jamie that he really didn’t know what he wanted. He normally would have asked for new Quidditch gear, or something for school, but school was nearly over. He had no idea what he’d need for next year. “I should probably ask my dad what he thinks I might need, for Aurors, you know…”

“Oh.” Scorpius wasn’t sure if he sounded surprised, but he had gotten the sense that Jamie wasn’t one-hundred percent sure he wanted to do the Aurors training. “So, I guess you took the spot in the initiate class?”

“Yeah, I don’t really have any other plan.” Jamie ruffled his fingers through Scorpius’ hair which, like Scorp’s head, was now in his lap as Scorpius had decided to stretch out and really take advantage of the sun and unseasonably warm weather.

“Maybe you should talk with Finch-Fletchley.” Scorpius suggested.

“I suppose.” Jamie started pulling up little blades of grass with his index finger and thumb.

“You suppose… Jamie, you love charms and tinkering with stuff. You can’t tell me that you wouldn’t love to be doing what Nott does. Playing around with gadgets and charms and spells all day, coming up with new ideas… You’d love it.”

Jamie knew Scorpius was right, but the idea of veering of the path he’d always envisioned scared him, too. Up until now he’d always just known what he was going to do next. Now he was getting to places where he’d have to make some leaps into the unknown.

He looked down at Scorpius’ face, relaxed in the sunlight and despite everything that was going on, he envied him a little. He always seemed to know what he wanted, at least as far as school and life after went. “Does it ever just scare you Scorp?”

“I think you’ll need to be a little more specific, James.” Scorpius lifted an eyebrow. “Right now, there are quite a few things that scare me.”

“Right” Jamie was feeling a little like a fool, now. “The future. Does that scare you?”

“ _Merlin_ , yes. All the time.” Scorpius sat up and put his hand on Jamie’s chest. “There’s nothing about the future that doesn’t scare me out of my mind if I think about it too much. I have no idea what I’m doing. Almost everything’s just a guess, really.”

“I hope I don’t scare you.” Jamie said.

“Of course you do.” Scorpius answered, looking kind of serious. “Not because I don’t trust you, or believe in you, but because it scares me sometimes… how I feel. Anything can happen…”

Jamie brought Scorpius’ hand up to his lips and gave his fingers a little kiss. “Let’s hope not. Let’s hope that all that happens is that we both just get old and saggy and a little forgetful.”

“Not too saggy, please.” Scorpius smiled and gave Jamie’s bum a little pinch before laying his head back down in Jamie’s lap. “But, the forgetfulness would be a handy excuse to just eat sweets all day.”

“As if you need an excuse.” Jamie laughed and looked around and realized he was having the picnic with Scorpius he’d daydreamed about months ago in the library.

He looked down at Scorpius, rolled his eyes and thought to himself ' _You make me such a Huffelpuffy dork.'_


	23. Score One For the Good Guys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The days are counting down until things break one way or another for Scorpius. In the meantime, Jamie and Albus are trying to find ways to think about anything but Scorp's impending procedure.. including a high-stakes quidditch match.

Jamie was staring up at the curtains that hung over his four poster. He was exhausted and still couldn’t even begin to get himself to sleep. He’d been lying here for hours now, five probably. A couple of hours ago he thought about getting up and wandering down to the common room, but he didn’t want to give up on sleep. Now he thought he might actually be too tired to even get up.

He twisted and closed his eyes again, but when he did he was back at the Manor, sitting at Scorp’s dining room table, listening to his dad read the owl from Nott. They had a plan, Scorpius was to go see the healer tomorrow to start on the pre-treatment with the goal of scheduling the procedure the following Monday.

Seven days from today. Seven.

 

\------^^^^------

 

Eventually, the sun came up. Jamie wasn’t sure if he’d slept at all. Maybe he had. His head was buzzing. He wasn’t sure if that was from lack of sleep or just the way he was feeling.

He slid his legs out from under the coverlet and sat up. The change in position didn’t improve things much. Even so, he pulled on his clothes and made his way to the Great Hall for breakfast. Maybe food would help. Coffee had to help.

He sat at the table alternately looking at the plates of food and scanning the boxes of cereal to try to decide on something to eat. His eyes moved from box to box; Pixie Puffs, Witchy Wheats, Goblins n’ Ghouls *With Ghost Mallows!*, Bertie’s Every Flavor Flakes. Then back again; Pixie Puffs, Witchy Wheats, Goblins n’ Ghouls, Every Flavor Flakes...

“Potter, It’s not alchemy. Just choose one.” Ben said, growing impatient waiting for the milk Jamie was holding while stalled mid-decision.

Jamie shook his head and grabbed the nearest box. Goblins n’ Ghouls it was. He didn’t even particularly like them, but he didn’t want to have to try to choose again.

He watched the cereal slowly empty into the bowl. Looking at the ghost mallows nestled amongst the flakes made him feel sick. Maybe he’d just have toast.

 

\------^^^^------

 

By the time Jamie got to Transfig he was starting to feel like his head was separating from his body. He watched Teddy up at the front of the class, elaborating on some of the Alchemic Theory he’d started teaching the previous week. He saw him there, but the words were just running right past his head.

He looked down and realized he hadn’t moved his hand in at least a minute, maybe longer, and now a large pool of ink was spreading across his parchment where he’d forgotten to lift his quill.

“Hey…” He turned and looked at Michael who was speaking at him. “Hey… Jamie. Are you okay?”

Jamie shook his head. “Kind of tired, I guess. I didn’t sleep well last night.”

“I heard you shuffling around, but Merlin, you look like you’ve been run over by a team of thestrals.”

“Thanks.” Jamie took a breath and tried to concentrate on Teddy’s lesson again.

He managed to make it through to the end of the class. He was packing up his things and hoisting his bag over his shoulder when he felt a hand on his back. It was Michael again.

“Look. We’ve only got two classes left today. I’ll make sure you get notes. Why don’t you go back to the Tower and get some sleep?”

Jamie just nodded and let his feet push him in the right direction.

 

\------^^^^------

 

It was the sound of his own stomach growling that woke Jamie up. He didn’t feel particularly refreshed, but at least he’d gotten some sleep. He looked around. Michael wasn’t in bed yet, but it was dark. He cast a quick tempus. It was nearly nine.

He rolled out of bed and wandered through the common room. He figured he’d give the kitchens a go and see if there were any leftovers from dinner, or perhaps the house elves would take pity on him and cook something up.

He was so focused on getting to the kitchen and finding something to eat that he didn’t notice the footsteps behind him until he reached the kitchen doors. He turned to see Teddy just behind him.

“How long have you been following me?”

“Since the common room.” Teddy looked at him askance, clearly trying to suss out whatever was going on. “So, you getting something to eat?”

“Yeah. Hope so.” Jamie sighed and opened the doors to the kitchens.

The elves were still there, finishing up the cleaning from that night’s dinner and preparing things for the next day’s breakfast. One of them, Eldey, turned to them.

“Can we help you, Masters?”

“I missed dinner tonight. Was there anything left over?”

“Oh, of course. We have some things in the cooler. We also have some cheeses and meats. Perhaps a cheese board?”

“That would be very nice. Thank you.” Jamie and Teddy sat down at a couple of stools at the work table which were out of the way, and in just a minute Eldey and another of the elves, one Jamie didn’t recognize, arrived back with a platter of cold roast beef, cheeses, some cold sausages, pickle, and a pork pie as well as a couple of tankards of water

Jamie was transfixed. He was so hungry he almost couldn’t decide where to start.

“Here” Teddy put some of each on a plate along with a bit of the bread that Eldey brought and slid it in front of Jamie. “So, any interest in telling me what’s going on?”

Jamie wasn’t sure he was ready to talk. He took another bite of the roast beef, washed it down with some water and then looked at Teddy.

“Scorp's going in for treatment next Monday. Actually, he was scheduled for his preliminary appointment today, so I don’t know for sure yet, but probably next Monday.” He was knocking the tines of his fork against the plate while he thought about the closing gap between the present and next Monday. It was closer to six days, now.

Teddy didn’t say anything, just took a bite of pork pie and watched Jamie. Eventually, Jamie continued.

“I’m sure that everyone’s going to be careful and prepared, and will do everything they can to minimize the risks… but, if the spell that was used on him gets released, it could….” Jamie shook his head. He couldn’t force himself to detail the full extent of it out loud. “It could kill him.”

Jamie took another deep breath and a drink of water and said it again, seeming to be trying to get used to the idea, somehow. “It could kill him.”

They ate in silence for a bit longer. Neither one really having anything good to say about the situation, and Teddy figuring that maybe Jamie just needed to sit with it a bit now that he’d said it out loud.

It was Teddy who spoke first. “You’re not sleeping?”

“It’s that obvious?” Jamie laughed a hollow laugh, knowing exactly how he looked. “I actually got some sleep this afternoon, but yeah, none at all last night.” Jamie paused, momentarily distracted by his own hand drawing circles in the pickle with a piece of cheese. “Every time I tried, I couldn’t think of anything but what was coming… what could be coming.”

Teddy nodded.

“I don’t know what to do.” Jamie tore off a piece of bread and then tore it again. “I… there’s nothing I can do. Nothing.”

“It’s killing you, isn’t it?”

Jamie nodded. “I’ve never had nothing I could do…”

“Look.” Teddy started. “I’m not going to pretend I have a great answer for you, or anything you can really do, but you can’t sit around waiting for the worst to happen. If there’s really nothing you can do, the only other option is to give yourself something else to focus on.”

“What do you mean, find a diversion?”

“Not exactly. Maybe you can think of something you can do after Scorpius’ procedure, something good you can plan for and count down to. So, the end point isn’t the date of the procedure but some day after, some day when something good will happen.”

“Okay.” Jamie was pretty skeptical, but at this point he realized he needed something to get him through this because he was going to be absolutely no good to anyone, and definitely not Scorp, if he didn’t get things under control.

“So, find out when he’ll be up to doing something, choose a date and plan something – something specific.” Teddy shrugged. “I have no idea if it’ll help at all, but at least you’ll have something else to think about, or to try to think about.”

Teddy watched Jamie as he mulled over the idea. He knew how his mind worked, and he knew Jamie was used to being the one who did something and not the one who waited. He knew that Jamie felt it was his responsibility to do something. It had always been like that, and he was fairly sure it was the result of some combination of being the oldest and being a Potter.

 

\------^^^^------

 

Jamie did sleep a little better on Monday night and when he woke on Tuesday Ragnell was there with a letter from Scorpius. Jamie read through it quickly and absorbed the basics.

According to the note, they were moving full steam ahead. Everyone seemed confident, and the healer had given Scorp a set of potions to take every day between now and next Tuesday, which was the day the procedure was scheduled. After, he’d need to remain at St. Mungo’s for observation for a couple of days, four at the most, and then he’d be able to go home. It could all be more or less over in less than two weeks.

Jamie took a breath and re-read the letter. He hadn’t come up with any ideas for something else to think about, something after next Tuesday. Now there was a day that was 100% certain, and Jamie knew he was going to go 100% mad if he didn’t come up with a plan.

He took a quick shower, threw on his clothes and headed down to breakfast. When he got in the hall he looked around and spotted his brother’s head.

“Did you get a letter?” Jamie asked.

“Yeah.” Albus answered, looking no better than Jamie felt.

“Teddy suggested we plan something for after… Something to look forward to so that we’re not just counting the days…”

Albus bobbed his head from side to side, not really nodding and not really shaking off the idea.

“So, got any ideas?” Albus asked.

“No. I was hoping you might.” Jamie looked at Albus hoping to draw some kind of idea from him.

“Well, your birthday is coming up. If we planned something for that it would serve the dual purpose of being something further out we could think about and being about you.” Albus grumbled.

“Don’t be an ass.” Jamie growled. “You know….”

“I do.” Albus cut in. “That wasn’t fair… I’m just…”

“I know,” Jamie caught his breath, “It was almost easier when there might not be anything that could be done … Or when we didn’t know…”

“Yeah. Now we know. There’s a date.” Albus crossed his arms over his chest, looking like he wanted to curl up someplace until it was all over.

Jamie nodded. “So, you know why we’ve got to come up with something.”

“Okay. So, why not your birthday?” Albus suggested again, “It really could be the thing. He’s not going to think it’s odd, and we could at least look forward to a night out.”

“He does like to go dancing.” Jamie tapped his spoon against his plate, thinking. “I’ll ask Teddy and Zora if they have any suggestions. Maybe we can make a night of it. Stay at Grimmauld?”

“Well, Gran’s going to expect you that day, but maybe we could plan an early dinner at the Burrow and then floo over.”

“That could work…. Okay.” Jamie pulled over a box of Pixie Puffs and some milk and made himself some breakfast.

 

\------^^^^------

 

On Tuesday afternoon Ragnell returned with a letter for Scorpius.

_Scorp,_

_Been up to anything interesting lately? Okay, that was my rather pathetic attempt at humor. What can I say? I’m off my game._

_It should be obvious, but I got your letter and don’t know what to say. I hope you feel it’s good news. I am glad there’s a plan, and that everyone seems confident. I know it has to be done – that they’re worried that if they don’t remove the curse it could released on its own. I know that, but I’m not going to lie. It still scares me. I’m sure you must know… The amulet has to be giving you something. Since I haven’t felt much from you (at least not much in the ‘anxious’ category) I’m guessing that you’re taking all of this easier than I am, which is a relief in itself._

_Teddy suggested that it would be a good idea for us to have something to look forward to after your procedure. So, I’m thinking we can plan to all go out for my birthday, dancing. Teddy and Zora had a couple of suggestions of muggle places they’d been to in London, and I think it could be fun. We could stay over at Grimmauld. Teddy said he’d chaperone if we need it._

_I hope the potions they have you taking aren’t horrible. I remember when Albus had to have his appendix taken, out and they had him taking some preventive potions in advance which made him sick for a week. It was bloody awful._

_By the time you get this it will be less than four days until I see you. I wish I could come on Friday, but we have our last match on Saturday morning and we really need this one. Of course, there’s always a chance that Rose will sabotage me in some way between now and then in an attempt to take my spot. She’s been getting worse and worse in practice lately. I can almost feel her salivating over the prospect of having the spot next year. I’m not one for pushing my relations under the bus, but I’m just letting you know that if anything were to happen to me… you might want to look at her. :)_

_I suppose that’s all for now. I’m going to make my very best effort to think about how much fun it’s going to be to go dancing with you. How great you always look dancing, and how much it makes me want to touch you. How warm you get, and the way your skin glows under the lights… the feel of your breath on my neck._

_Okay, now I think I need a cold shower or a wank. I can’t decide which. Actually, I’ll probably have to go without either because I have Transfig next, and Teddy will give me hell for being late._

_I’ll see you in four._

_Love,_

_J_

Scorpius ran his ring back over the letter, lingering over the section Jamie’d written about going dancing. He wasn’t sure if Jamie knew when he developed the readers that he would hear everything Jamie had written in Jamie’s voice, and there were some things that were immeasurably better when recited in Jamie’s voice.

 

\------^^^^------

 

Albus was turning a corner on his way to Transfig when he felt a tap on his arm.

“Albus. Do you have a moment?” Albus turned, and it was Phoebe.”I wanted to talk to you about something before we get to class.”

“What is it?” He asked, not really wanting to be late, but not worrying too much, seeing as Teddy was more or less family and not likely to doc Slytherin too many points for the tardy.

“Um….” She motioned with her head that they needed a little more privacy. “Well, I was in the library yesterday, and I overheard Trina Wilkes mention that Karl and Kris’s house was being watched… or at least they thought so… by your dad, or the Aurors.”

“Oh.”

“Look. I’m really sorry about everything….” Phoebe’s voice trailed off as she realized there really wasn’t much else she could or wanted to say.

“I know. Really, I know.” Albus said, putting his hand on her arm.

Phoebe pulled back a little, and Albus’ hand dropped. “Anyway, they weren’t being very nice… about you and Scorpius… I just wanted you to know.”

“Thanks.” Albus tried to catch her eyes so that she’d know that he meant it, but she was purposefully trying not to look at him.

“We better get to class.” She turned and started to go.

Albus just watched her for a moment, wanting to say something but not really knowing what there was to say.

 

\------^^^^------

 

“You’re quiet tonight.” Draco remarked, watching his son push a roasted potato back and forth across his plate. “Is there something on your mind?”

“A lot of things, actually…” Scorpius turned toward his father’s voice. “But, one in particular that I’m afraid you’ll think is completely frivolous.”

“How so?”

“Well… I want to go to the quidditch game at Hogwarts this Saturday.”

“Albus is scheduled to come over on Friday evening, and Jamie will be coming here right after the game on Saturday.” Draco reminded his son.

“I know. It’s just that…” Scorpius started chasing his potato again. “It’s an important game, and I want to be there. I just want to do something normal…”

Draco set down his knife and fork and moved his hands to grip on the edge of the table, suddenly seized by the feeling that if he didn’t hold on he’d leap out of his seat, grab Scorpius, and pull him into an entirely too violent hug. Instead he sat very still, afraid that any movement would betray what he believed both he and Scorpius might be thinking at that moment, that if things didn’t go well next week the quidditch match would be the last one Scorpius went to, the last time he was with his friends. Draco took a pause and tried to modulate his breathing so his voice wouldn’t betray his worry.

“If you want to. I can make arrangements with McGonagall.” Draco answered, slowly.

“I would… I’d really like that, Dad.” Scorpius said, finally stabbing the potato and taking a bite.

“Very well. It looks like we’re going to a quidditch game on Saturday, then.” Draco said with as much enthusiasm as he could muster.

 

\------^^^^------

 

Jamie was changing for the Gryffindor team’s last full practice before the weekend match with Hufflepuff when Carlos Zabini cornered him in the locker room.

“What’s up, Carlos?” Jamie asked, throwing his trousers and shoes into his locker and slamming the door shut.

Carlos looked around. “Look, I don’t know that it’s anything, but earlier, when we were just finished with practice I overheard something. Emma was talking with Goyle and she was complaining about your dad, and… apparently her parents and Becca’s think they’re being watched.”

“I really don’t know anything about that. Dad hasn’t said anything… not that he would have.” Jamie answered.

“I know, but given how they’ve been… what happened with Kris and Karl… Maybe you should just be careful. They seemed pretty agitated.”

“Okay. Thanks.” Jamie was just turning to go and turned back, “You’ll tell Al, right?”

“Of course.” Carlos answered. “Maybe you’d better give your side a head’s up.”

Jamie nodded, thinking about it. “Thanks again.”

“Sure. I’d wish you good luck this weekend, but….”

“I know. Our win isn’t good for you.” Jamie smiled. Jamie knew that if the Gryffindor side beat Hufflepuff this weekend it was good for him, but messed up Slytherin’s seeding for the tournament that started after the break.

When Carlos got back to the Dungeon Al was already in their room, sorting through his clothing.

“Hey,” Albus turned to look at him, “Guess what?”

“What’s that?”

“Scorp’s coming for quidditch on Saturday.” Albus tossed a couple of pieces of clothing into the laundry bin.

“That’s great… but…” Carlos stumbled a little, not really wanting to make more than was necessary over what was just an overheard conversation.

“What?” Albus asked, stoping to give Carlos his full attention.

“Well, I overheard Emma Smith talking with Goyle after practice today, and she’s a little wound up… she thinks your dad has her family and Becca Rookwood’s under observation.”

“Really…?” Albus said, not sounding more curious than surprised or upset. “Actually, Phoebe told me that she heard that Kris and Karl were being watched, too… that people were talking.”

“I’m sure it’s just talk, but…”

“Yeah, we should probably just keep an eye out, I guess.”

“It’ll be fun to see Scorp, though, yeah?” Carlos tried to reorient the conversation to something more fun.

“Yeah. It will be. I think he wants to surprise Jamie. So, we’ll keep it a little hush for now.” Albus suggested.

 

\------^^^^-------

 

With a little help from Teddy, Zora, Professor Williams, Carlos and Yann, Albus managed to keep Jamie in the dark for the next three days, making up a story about needing some extra Transfiguration tutoring to explain why he was going to stay at school through Jamie’s game on Saturday.

When Scorpius and Draco arrived on Saturday morning they were met in McGonagall’s office by the Headmistress, Professor Williams and Albus, who were set to escort them to the quidditch pitch. Albus was ecstatic to see that Scorpius was wearing a broad smile on his face when he stepped out of the floo.

“Welcome back to school.” Albus nearly crowed as he pulled Scorpius in for a hug. “I’ve managed to keep this hush-hush… he doesn’t know.”

“Good.” Scorpius answered. “Not that I think he’d mind, but I don’t want him to have to think about me instead of the game.” Scorpius breathed in a deep breath. “Funny, I didn’t realize it, but I think I missed the way this place smells. Do we have time to run by the library? I really love the way the library smells.”

“You goof.” Albus laughed. “Maybe later. Right now we’re just going to make it to the pitch on time.”

“Okay… Old book smell will have to wait.”

“Old books and spilt ink…”

“Yeah… spilt ink.” Scorpius said, sounding almost wistful.

In less than ten minutes they were climbing up the stands and into the area being filled with the moderate sized Slytherin contingent. Their cheering section wasn’t large, and was probably going to side with Hufflepuff for the game, but Albus felt more comfortable being among their friends rather than trying to infiltrate the Gryffindor stand.

Draco, on the other hand, was decidedly uncomfortable. He’d been forcing himself through the motions all morning, trying his best to sound at least neutral about the prospect of Scorpius being surrounded by a stadium filled with irresponsible students. As he and Lin took their seats behind Scorpius, Albus, and their friends, Draco could feel the hair on the back of his neck prickle up and he couldn’t stop scanning the area looking for any sign of risky behavior.

As soon Albus squeezed down the bench next to Scorpius he wondered if he’d made a bit of an error. They were surrounded by friends, Carlos, Yann, Philippa and Vi had joined them, and Professor Williams and Mr. Malfoy were just behind, but there was a definite buzz that ran through the crowd when people noticed Scorpius was there. It was his first time back, and although Albus did his best to convince himself that it was just the sound of gossip and curiosity, the truth was the sound had a bit of an uncomfortable edge to it.

Albus took a look around, and decided that there really wasn’t anything to be done about it and reminded himself that someone would have to be a true idiot to try something right there in full view of nearly all the Hogwarts staff, including the Headmistress. When he turned toward Scorpius he could have sworn his friend was running through the same thoughts. He looked back up at Mr. Malfoy and Professor Williams, and Mr. Malfoy was definitely having the same thoughts. Albus gave him an admittedly weak smile, which was returned by an equally anemic attempt at a smile.

Albus was brought back to the action on the pitch when Scorpius started speaking. “Not too windy today, and a good amount of sun.” Scorpius commented while appearing to nose into the weather. “How’s everyone look?”

“Great.” Carlos answered, “I think Lissa’s trying to look intimidating, and Paul looks good.”

“And, Gryffindor?” Scorpius said while elbowing Carlos in the side.

“Oh… them…” Carlos was clearly joking with Scorpius now… “Ummm… they look good, but their seeker seems a little questionable.”

“Thanks. Perhaps I’ll need to consult a more reliable source.” Scorpius answered, happy to be joking among friends on a sunny Saturday morning.

Scorpius turned to Albus who gave him the run-down on both teams, detailing how everyone was doing and the various pre-match maneuvers the teams were engaged in to try to intimidate one another. Scorpius new them all well; the serious looking huddle, the ‘devil may care’ stunts; the aggressive dive-booming maneuvers; the intimidating fly-bys.

Then the voice Laird McInnis, the student announcer, broke over the pitch and the match began.

Gryffindor fell behind nearly straight away, and Scorpius was worried that a loss would put a damper on the weekend. Jamie was usually pretty good about putting those kinds of things out of his mind, but this was an important match… and it was Jamie’s final year playing. He knew how he’d react, and he assumed Jamie’d feel much the same.

“Rosie’s really looking piqued now.” Albus leaned over and spoke into Scorpius’ ear in order to be heard over the shouts and chants of the crowd. “I think there’s a fifty-fifty chance she might try to punch Flint if he gets too close, bat or no bat.”

After about thirty minutes, the tide turned, though, and the Gryffindor team started to pick up. Rosie scored a trio of goals, as did the newest chaser on their team, Anwen Cooper-Williams. Anwen had been moved up when Alex Davies was suspended and had managed to retain her spot on the team despite Rose’s general displeasure with the development of a potential rival.

After a couple more goals the team was close enough in score that if the snitch were to be caught, they’d pull out the win.

“Potter’s fairly bristling now, hoping for a chance at the snitch” Laird called out over the crowd.

Scorpius grabbed on to Albus’ arm. “I feel it.”

“What?” Albus looked at Scorpius.

“The snitch. It’s over there.” Scorpius pointed. “I can feel it.”

“No way.” Albus searched Scorpius face in a misplaced attempt to understand how that was possible.

“It’s the vibration of the wings… It’s like nothing else… It buzzes.” Scorpius was almost giddy. “Does he see it?”

Albus didn’t have a chance to answer before Laird broke out “It appears we’ve got a chase! Potter and Sorenson have both spotted the snitch. Sorenson may have the edge, though….”

“Ow! Scorp. Can you loosen your grip a little?” Albus nudged his finger under Scorpius’ embedded thumb.

“Sorry… I….” Scorpius was absolutely still, face into the air, looking for all the world like a dog sniffing out a scent.

“What’s this?” Liam continued, “It’s done a feint. Looks like…. yes, Potter may now have the advantage. They’re going for it… He’s got it. Potter’s caught the snitch…. Match over, Gryffindor wins 230-120”

Scorpius leapt into the air with a cheer, obviously sticking out in the Slytherin section, which was distinctly subdued by the fact that their side were disadvantaged by the loss. Suddenly, he was doubling over from the sensation of waves of stinging nettles gliding over his skin. He’d been hexed.

Professor Williams jumped up at once, “ _Finite Incantatum_ ” he called out, stopping the hex and then followed it with “ _Corpus_ _Duratus_ ” and Scorpius was rendered completely still. Carlos and Albus immediately moved to steady him, and Williams jumped into the row, clearing students away and physically carrying Scorpius out of the stands.

He turned to Draco as he moved Scorpius down through the crowd. “We’d better get to St. Mungo’s. It’s probable that the hex won’t have done anything, but I don’t want to risk it… We’re so close. We can disapparate from the infirmary. They can drop the wards there.”

Albus and Carlos were left to be swallowed up by the crowd, not sure what they should be doing. The two of them looked at one another and then at Vi, Yann and Philippa, who were all wearing equally stunned expressions.

“Do you have any idea who that was?” Albus asked.

“Honestly, no.” Vi answered. “But, it really could have been almost anyone. It was just a stinging hex… I’m… Do you think he’ll be okay?”

“I really don’t know.” Albus looked around again, feeling a building need to do something. “I better get Jamie. We need to go.”

With that, Albus was gone, slipping through the crowd to go grab his brother. He was not looking forward to breaking the news.

 

\------^^^^------

 

Half an hour later Albus and Jamie were stepping into the receiving area at St. Mungo’s. Jamie looked around and thought to himself that he’d be very happy to never set foot in this place again. That thought was followed by the feeling he’d better get used to the place because his sense was that future was probably going to be somewhat eventful no matter what road either Scorpius or he took. For whatever reason, both he and Scorpius did now have a track record of getting wrapped up in questionable plans.

Jamie found himself outside the healing theatre once again. This time he, Mr. Malfoy, Professor Williams, Albus were placed in the waiting area slightly removed from the theatre. Apparently, Scorpius’ case was of heavy interest to the students, and because St. Mungo’s was a teaching facility, students were given first access to the viewing room. Jamie was not pleased to hear that Scorpius’ case was so sensational it was drawing a crowd.

Suddenly, Mr. Nott and a healer arrived. Jamie recognized the healer, she’d been at the Malfoy’s New Year’s party. He was fairly certain her name was Parkinson.

“Draco,” the healer said as she walked over and took Mr. Malfoy’s hand, “There’s been no harm, but we think we should accelerate the treatment. We could hold him in stasis for a couple of additional days and provide him with an intravenous potion to continue to build his health, but I think the additional prophylactic effects of the potion won’t be sufficient to offset the risk of holding him in stasis.”

Draco looked at the healer and Mr. Nott and then Professor Williams.

Nott watched Draco scan the faces of the adults in the room and sensed he needed something more in the way of assurance. “Although it’s not the timeline we’d initially set, we are ready to proceed. I believe the likelihood of an adverse effect at this time is very low, certainly no greater than it will be on Monday or Tuesday.”

“Well, then.” Draco looked around again. “I suppose you just need my permission?”

“Yes, if you’re agreed, we can set everything up.” The healer answered.

“Okay, Pansy. Agreed.” Draco replied and nodded, confirming to himself that he’d made the decision. They’d remove the embedded spell today.

Having nothing else to do, Jamie was about to sit down in his seat again when Professor Williams spoke to Albus and him. “Would you like me to fire-call your parents?”

“Yeah. Yes. That’d be good. Thank you.” Albus answered.

Jamie watched Professor Williams walk back over to Mr. Malfoy, say something to him that caused Mr. Malfoy to nod, and then walk off.

Jamie, Albus and Draco were left there in the waiting room, waiting.

“The Healer?” Jamie started his question.

“Pansy… Parkinson.” Draco answered. “We went to school together. Apparently, she’s the very best in special cases like these. Her bedside manner leaves a little to be desired… but she is brilliant.”

Jamie swore he could see a smile flicker across Mr. Malfoy’s face, and he wondered what history might exist between the healer and Scorp’s dad.

“Well, I’m glad he has the best.” Jamie said, partly to say something and partly to reassure himself.

“Mmm…. Two Slytherins, too.” Draco observed, “Both Nott and Parkinson were Slytherins with me. I suppose that means I can trust them to do their very best, if only so that they can protect or build their reputations.” He let out a laugh that had a ring of resigned sarcasm.

Jamie was just starting to settle back into his chair when his parents and Professor Williams came in.

“Draco,” His mom walked over and gave Mr. Malfoy a strong hug, which he returned without too much of a pained look. Jamie wondered if he might actually be getting used to Weasley-style affection. “How’s he doing?”

“They’re going to go ahead with the procedure today. They don’t think there’s any benefit to waiting. So, they’re going to go ahead and get started.”

Ginny nodded gave him a little pat on the shoulder before moving aside as Professor Williams handed Draco a cup of something that resembled tea.

They were all settling in for an indeterminate wait when Nott came walking back in. He looked at Jamie. “Jamie, would you like to come watch?”

Jamie looked up in surprise and around at the group in the room. Mr. Malfoy looked just as surprised as he. “Umm… Yes, but shouldn’t Mr. Malfoy?”

“Evidently St. Mungo’s now prioritizes a young man’s lover above his father.” Draco said in an unexpectedly audible voice.

Two messy dark heads with green eyes popped up in unison on one side of the room.

“ _Hoooo…. Helga_ … I think Scorp’s dad has gone right ‘round the bend now.” Albus quipped to his father who had to bite his lip not to laugh quite uncontrollably both at Draco’s strange outburst and Jamie’s rapidly blushing and twisting face.

“I’m not…” Jamie started, his mouth opening and closing with only occasional words being emitted. “I’m not… I mean… We’re not….. We haven’t…”

Harry shook his head and rubbed his eyes. How on Earth had his life taken this turn? Then he watched Jamie give in to his desperation.

“ _Mom_ …” Jamie looked at Ginny with pleading eyes.

Realizing what he’d unleashed, Nott attempted a repair. “I’m sure we can find space for both of you… If you’re… both amenable.”

“It seems that will have to do.” Draco answered, trying his best to reassemble his dignity after what he knew was a bizarre and exceptionally intimate outburst. Lin couldn’t help but feel a ripple of amusement and a burst of affection watching Draco pull himself together to go watch his son in the healing theater for the second time in less than a month.

 

\-------^^^^-------

 

Once in the observation room, Draco and Jamie were able to find seats amongst the nearly dozen students assembled there. Scorpius had already been brought into the theater and was resting, sedated and still under a stasis charm, on the operating table.

Healer Parkinson and two assistant Healers were in the room with Scorpius, casting a surgical grade _scourgify_ over him and assembling the wands, salves, potions and tools they might need for the procedure.

Nott walked in and looked over his set of materials. There was his wand, what looked like a small box, a few other random looking tools Jamie couldn’t get a good look at, and some parchment.

Healer Parkinson turned toward the observing students, Draco and Jamie. “As you know, we are gathered here today to observe the removal and effective disposal of an unreleased incendium internus. For those of you who have reviewed the case, you know the background of this situation and the sequence of spells and events that led to the spell being isolated, incompletely executed, in the patient, causing blindness. For any of you who don’t know the history, I’m not entirely sure why you’re wasting your time and a perfectly good seat.”

There was a murmur among the students. It seemed most of them were well used to Healer Parkinson’s brusque demeanor.

“Well begin with a directed _protego_ applied to all parts of the patient’s body save the area of concern.” The healer then started carefully moving her wand over Scorpius’ body, whispering the spell.

“Now, our Curse Breaker, Mr. Nott, will carry out the removal of the spell.”

The healers moved over to the side, seeming to re-check their collection of tools, salves, poultices, and potions. At the same time, Nott pulled on a strangely tinted pair of goggles and moved in to begin his work.

Nott seemed to curl over Scorpius’ head, bristling with contained energy while he started to incant a sequence of spells that weren’t familiar to Jamie. He was moving hardly at all, but his face strained with concentration and Jamie wondered what kind of mental strength must be required to remove an unreleased spell from a living patient. A chill ran down his spine and he felt himself shiver severely.

After what seemed like hours, but was in all likelihood no more than half an hour, Nott slowly pulled back his wand, opened the small box, and cast the spell into the box. “ _Incendium_ _Internum_ ” he commanded, and there was a small flaming pop. Then he turned toward the observers, popped his goggles off, and gave what Jamie thought looked like a surprised little smile accompanied by a thumbs up.

Jamie looked at Draco. “Is that….?”

“Nott always was a little bit of an odd bird.” Draco answered, “However, If there’s any hand gesture you want to see at a time like this, a thumbs up is probably the one.”

Jamie looked at Draco with a half smile and gave him a thumbs up.

Draco shook his head and muttered, “Potter…”


	24. Breakfast, Lunch and Birthday Cake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jamie Potter may just be the luckiest wizard on the planet. His boyfriend is recovering, his birthday's coming up, and there's chocolate cake on order... Even 'family lunch' with Narcissa works out well.

It was Albus’ face Jamie saw first when he turned to walk into the waiting room, and that sight alone forced breath into his lungs. Until he saw his brother, and his eyes that looked like a big, green question, he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding his breath. Now, he felt like he was panting, trying to recover all the oxygen he’d missed over the last month or more.

“Well?” Albus asked, finally.

Jamie nodded, a broad smile growing on his face.

“Everything went great. At least I think so. Nott gave us a thumbs up, and Healer Parkinson took Scorp and Mr. Malfoy back to the recovery suite.”

“And his eyes?” Albus asked.

“We won’t really know until they remove the shielding charm the healer put in place, but the spell is gone. So, whatever happens….” Jamie pushed the words out, still feeling a little breathless. “He’s safe now.”

Ginny got up and pulled her son into a strong hug. “That’s so good. Really, really good news.”

“Yeah.” Jamie pulled her tight and felt himself relax as his breathing began to steady. “It really, really is.”

“So. When are they removing the shielding charm?” Albus asked.

“Oh, they’re doing that now.” Jamie answered. “We thought it would be good for it to just be Scorp and his dad this time ‘round.” He looked at his brother who was kneading his hands together. “They’ll be out soon.”

 

\-------^^^^-------

 

Scorpius shivered. He wasn’t sure if the room was cold or if it was the effect of coming out of the stasis charm, but he was freezing.

“Can I have an extra blanket?” He asked, and Draco pulled one out from the shelving beside Scorpius’ bed. He spread the blanket over his son, carefully arranging it so that it covered Scorpius from chest to toe.

“How much longer do you think?” Scorpius asked, fiddling with the hem of the blanket.

“Not much, Pansy said she would be back soon.”

As if she’d been summoned, the severe looking brunette walked back into the room with a couple of younger healers Draco took to be students.

“Well, let’s take a look, then.” Pansy said as she pulled her wand to dim the lights and begin withdrawing the shielding charm.

“I’m going to go slowly. Just let me know when you start to notice something.” She worked quietly, gradually reducing the shield in order to let light into Scorpius’ eyes.

Draco leaned forward, straining to see any sign of recognition in Scorpius’ face. Suddenly, there was a flicker of something in his son’s eyes.

“Scorpius?” He asked.

A smile spread across Scorpius’ face. “I can see.” He breathed in deeply, just now realizing that he might have been holding his breath. His eyes tracked up to look at Draco. “I can see you, Dad.”

“Good… That’s good” Healer Parkinson said, “Tell me how it all looks”

“The room’s dim, but I can see everyone. It’s Dad, and you, and those two over there.” Scorpius motioned to the students.

“I’m going to turn the lights up a bit now. Let me know how it is.”

As the healer increased the lighting, Scorpius squinted a little, but his eyes seemed to get used to the brightness. “It’s good. A little bright, but good.”

Pansy made some notes on her parchment. She then pulled out a second wand and conjured a small _lumos_ at the end of each, and moved directly in front of Scorpius. She put her hands somewhat behind him.

“Tell me when you can see the light and which side, right or left.”

She began to move the wands just into his field of vision so that Scorpius could barely see them out of the side of his eyes. Then, she wrote more notes on her parchment.

After that exercise, she cast a field of letters up on one of the walls. “Can you read those, please?”

Scorpius read off the letters.

She then flicked her wand and the letters shrank and re-ordered with a few being replaced by new letters. “And these?”

Scorpius read off the new line of letters.

After a couple additional rounds of reading smaller and smaller letters followed by a round with a sheet of parchment Scorpius had to read close up, the examination appeared to be finished. The healer wrote some additional notes on the parchment and looked up.

“Well. It all looks fairly good. I’m going to give you a pair of charmed glasses for you to use during the coming week. The charm is set to protect your eyes from the sunlight, as you’re still going to be light sensitive for a few days. The level of protection will diminish over the days so that by the end of the week you should be fully adjusted to normal daytime sun.”

Draco and Scorpius nodded.

“Also, it looks like you may have lost a little of your vision. Nothing serious, but you seem to have a slight deficit in your distance sight. This might correct over the next few days as your eyes adjust, or it might be the result of the injury… or it could just be a natural reduction in your vision. In any case, I’ll make a note of it in your chart and have the eye healer check on you tomorrow to see if you need a follow-up on that. Regardless, it looks like you should be able to return home either later tomorrow or Monday at the latest.”

“So, I may need glasses.” Scorpius said.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“And that’s it.”

“Yes. That’s it.” Pansy said, looking from Draco to Scorpius and back. “Would you like me to send one of the trainees for your friends?”

“Yes…. Yes, please.” Scorpius said, suddenly bursting with excitement to see everyone. It had only been about a month, but it felt like so much longer. For a moment he thought he might actually not recognize them all.

“Very well. I’ll have the glasses sent up, and you’ll be hearing from the specialist. These are the instructions for the glasses, should you need them.” She handed Draco a slip of parchment and rose to go, summoning her trainees to follow her.

When it was just the two of them, Draco looked at his son, who looked as confused about what to say next as he did. Draco was sorting through so many feelings at once with the most prominent being relief, joy and gratitude. He reached over and brushed some hair from Scorpius’ face.

“I’m so…” Draco could feel the tears starting to gather in his eyes and his chest tightening.

“Me, too.” Scorpius stood up and pulled his dad into a hug. “Thank you.”

“For what?” Draco looked at his son, confused.

“I don’t know… I’m just … I’m really glad you’re my dad. That it was you with me through this…” Scorpius stepped back to look his father in the face so he would really absorb what he was trying to say. “I always knew I could count on you, but it was… It just reminded me how lucky I am.”

“Scorpius, you know there is nothing I wouldn’t do for you. Nothing.”

“I know. I just wanted to say it out loud; that I know I’m lucky.” He pulled his dad into another hug.

“Two in one day.” Draco remarked.

“I know. I think that might be a new Malfoy record.” Scorpius laughed.

There was a knock on the door and Scorpius turned to see the horde that had arrived to see how the patient was doing. Now it was his turn to feel overwhelmed. Everyone was there, Albus and Mr. and Mrs. Potter, Professor Williams/Lin, and Jamie… Jamie. When he looked at Jamie he felt his heart pulling as if it had cast a line directly to Jamie and was willing him in close. He also noticed the feeling of his own face straining with a smile he realized must be plastered from ear to ear. Jamie must have seen it too, because he was smiling a nearly identical, ridiculously broad smile that was making his eyes crinkle up so much Scorpius wondered how they were staying open.

Then he was being swallowed up in hugs, first from Albus, with a layer of Mr. and Mrs. Potter on top.

“You look great!” Albus nearly screamed while almost bowling Scorpius over with enthusiasm. Scorpius wasn’t sure if he had ever seen Albus this excited before in his life. Maybe once or twice, but it was definitely toward the highest end of ‘excited’ he’d ever seen his friend.

“You really do.” Ginny added. “How are you?”

“Good. The Healer said I could be released either later tomorrow or Monday.” Scorpius looked around. “The only thing is….”

Everyone appeared to be leaning forward, especially Jamie.

“I may have lost a little sight… I may need glasses.” He looked over at Jamie who was biting the corner of his lip a bit and appeared to be suppressing a smile, of all things.

“Oh, well. That’s nothing, right?” Albus jumped in.

“Absolutely.” Scorpius started to laugh, “I mean… they didn’t seem to stand in the way of your dad saving the world, or anything.”

Harry joined in with a laugh. “Right… no problem there…Plenty of other problems, but for some reason never the glasses.”

“Is it just me, or is anyone else here hungry?” Albus suddenly asked, looking around.

“Oh… Yes.” Professor Williams chipped in. “Why don’t we go find something to eat. Jamie, do you mind waiting with Scorpius, and we can bring you two something?” He added while gently prodding Draco in the ribs with his elbow.

“Okay. Yes, please.” Jamie answered, looking over at Albus who was giving him a hard to decipher look. “Thanks.”

When the crowd have moved off to find something to eat, Jamie and Scorpius were finally alone in the room.

“So, glasses?” Jamie asked, now giving Scorpius a look that could potentially be described as a mix between intrigued and lusty.

“Yup…” Scorpius felt himself responding to Jamie’s gaze. “You like that idea.”

“Well, you do look really great in glasses.” He answered, sitting himself and Scorpius down on Scorp’s bed before leaning in close to whisper in Scorpius’ ear. “And… I like imagining taking them off you…” Then he began to nip Scorpius’ ear while starting to tease his collarbone with his fingertips. “I like taking things off of you, and they’re just one more thing I can imagine removing…”

Jamie didn’t get any further with his thought because that was when Scorpius turned and pulled Jamie into a ravenous kiss. He wove his fingers through Jamie’s hair, tugging at it in an effort to get more of it into his hands. The intensity of it thrilled Jamie who couldn’t stop himself from letting out a very dirty sounding groan before sliding his hands under Scorp’s gown and running them hungrily up and down Scorpius’ bare back.

Scorpius pushed Jamie onto the bed and began to kiss down his neck until he reached the top of his quidditch robes. Jamie’d only half changed in his haste to get to St. Mungo’s with Albus, and had discarded his leathers but was still wearing his sweaty, dirty robes.

“ _Merlin_ , you smell delicious.” Scorpius growled.

“You must be kidding. I reek.”

Scorpius shook his head. “Mmmm-mmm. No. I love the way you smell… and the way you taste.” He said, trailing his tongue across the exposed parts of Jamie’s collarbone. “God, I love it.”

Scorpius pulled back, taking in Jamie's face. “Your eyes.” He said looking deeply at Jamie and nearly breaking himself with the thrill of looking directly into Jamie’s dancing, joyful, golden-hazel eyes and feeling Jamie gazing right back into his. “They’re so bloody amazing.”

Jamie laughed and felt every emotion that had hurled through him over the last few days surge to the point where he wondered if he might become completely unmoored. Instead, he wound himself around Scorpius, pulling him in tight, snogging him senseless. He pulled closer as Scorp wound his hands around his head and he felt Scorp’s lips curl in a giddy, silly smile. Jamie thought there was nothing in the world better than this.

“Oh. Excuse me.” A voice called out, and Scorpius jumped, realizing that his ass, which was being aggressively appreciated by Jamie at that very moment, might be more than a little exposed..

Jamie looked over and realized it was one of the healers who’d been attending the procedure earlier. “Yes. Um…”

“Well, I have the glasses for Scorpius.” He held out the pair of glasses.

Scorpius turned toward their visitor, having collected himself a little. “Thank you… Do you?” He asked, wondering if there was something he was supposed to do.

“Let me just check the fit.” The healer came over and placed the glasses over the bridge of Scorpius’ nose. “How do they feel?”

“Okay, I suppose.” Scorpius answered.

“Good. If you have any problem with them, just call for someone. We can make any adjustments you need.” He said and then left, still looking a little off kilter.

As soon as the healer left the room, Jamie and Scorpius broke into fits of laughter which hadn’t even half subsided when Albus and his dad returned with some food for the two of them.

 

\-------^^^^-------

 

Jamie woke on Sunday morning feeling better than he had in ages. It wasn’t his ideal way to wake up on a Sunday. His ideal morning would involve Scorpius and one of his dad’s famous fry-ups with a truly unhealthy amount of fried bread, eggs and sausages, but it was among the better Sunday mornings in memory. Scorpius would be going home in a day or less, and he was just one week away from Easter break. Jamie just let himself lie in his bed and enjoy the feeling that everything was on the upswing, finally.

He eventually roused himself when the scent of his father’s cooking snaked it’s way under the door and to his nose; fry-up. When he reached the kitchen he found his dad, busy at the range, watching over a large pan being filled successively with sausage, bread, eggs and tomatoes.

“Go ahead and grab one” Harry suggested, motioning at the plate he’d just filled to the edges with food. “I’ll join you in a moment. I’m not sure I want to wake Al just yet.”

“Or, you don’t want to wait that long for your breakfast.” Jamie laughed, knowing that waking his brother was often a half-hour job or longer. “It’s too bad Lily’s not here… She’s usually up for the challenge.”

Harry laughed, thinking of his daughter’s usual approach of simply jumping on her brother’s bed until he gave in and evacuated.

Jamie sat down with his plate and popped the yoke on his egg, letting the golden liquid spread out over the white and under the bread and sausage. Just watching it happen made him happy.

“Mmmm… this is good.” He said between mouthfuls as Harry sat down to join him.

“I know. It never gets old, does it?” Harry contemplated the sausage now perched on his fork.

“No, never.” Jamie smiled, diving back in for a forkful of bread, egg and tomato.

They ate in silence for a short while, the only sound being the scrape of knives and forks on china as they worked across plates filled with food.

“Jamie, can I ask you something?” Harry broke the silence.

“Sure… I guess…” Jamie answered, a little unsure what his dad might want to talk about.

“Do you want to be an auror?”

That wasn’t what Jamie was expecting. He looked at his dad, who was still looking at his food rather than putting him on the spot with a direct gaze. He knew his dad was purposefully trying not to force his hand, and he appreciated it.

“Honestly… I don’t know.” Jamie answered as truthfully as he could.

Harry didn’t respond right away, and Jamie continued. “There are things about it that I think I’d like. Working on puzzles, trying to do the right thing, feeling like you’re working for the good…”

“But…” Harry added, looking at Jamie now.

“I just don’t know enough about what else is out there, maybe… or, it feels like maybe I just always assumed and didn’t really think about it.” Jamie looked down at his plate, wishing he could better explain what he felt. “It’s not that I don’t want to be an auror. I just don’t know that I do…. Does that make any sense at all?”

“It does…” Harry answered. “It makes a lot of sense. When I started, I really didn’t think about it, either… but I didn’t have much of a chance to reflect on my choice.” He sighed a little. “To be honest, I don’t know what I would have chosen if I were in your shoes…. I hope you don’t feel pressured, because what I really want is for you to have the life you want… whatever work that includes.”

“Thanks.” Jamie gave a weak half-smile. “Now, if I only knew.”

“Well, you’ve got time, and you can always change your mind, too.” Harry said rising with his empty plate from the table. “Do you want any more?”

“You know I won’t say no.” Jamie answered, handing his plate over for a refill as his father lit the burner again and started on a few more eggs. “Speaking of the Aurors, how’s work going, anyway?” Jamie asked, keeping the conversation going while his dad cooked.

“Good.” Harry shook his head a little, thinking… “There’s one thing that we’re stumbling on though… There’s a facility we’ve been watching for a while and we just can’t seem to get good eyes in the place… It’s frustrating. I know there’s something happening there, but…”

“Nothing hard.”

“Right, nothing hard…. Just comings and goings and partial conversations.” Harry answered handing Jamie back his plate, now loaded full again.

“How much longer can you keep the watch going?” Jamie asked, knowing that eventually they’d have to pull back. The Ministry wasn’t going to let them continue to keep anyone under surveillance indefinitely.

“Probably another month at the most. I’m already on borrowed time, and if ‘Mione wasn’t the Minister it would have been shut down by now, certainly.”

“Helps to have friends in the right places, I guess.”

“Sometimes it does.” Harry smiled.

 

\------^^^^------

 

At breakfast Tuesday morning Jamie received an owl from Scorpius. When he’d left him at St. Mungo’s on Sunday he’d been in the process of being fitted for his new glasses, and Jamie had lobbied as hard as he could for the classic horned-rimmed ones he felt gave Scorp the sexy librarian look he liked best. According to Scorp’s letter, he seemed to have won. Just another thing to look forward to during the break.

“You look happy.” Aishah’s voice broke into Jamie’s thoughts about Scorpius and his new glasses.

“Just looking forward to the break.” Jamie agreed. “What’s up with you?”

“Mexborough turned up.” She said, dropping a copy of _The Prophet_ on the table.

“Really?”

“Yup… Take a look.” She motioned at the paper and Jamie looked through it.

He scanned through the brief article on this case. “Doesn’t remember a thing, huh?”

“That’s what they say.” She answered.

“That’s what they said about Dan, too…” He added.

“So, one time was… questionable.”

“But twice… that’s definitely suspicious.” He finished and she shrugged.

 

\------^^^^------

 

Albus had just wished Hagrid a happy break and was on his way back to the Dungeon to pack when he ran into Jamie.

“Squeezing in a last practice?” He asked, looking at his brother’s dirty robes.

“Yeah, we still have a good shot at the cup this year, and we need to stay fresh.” Jamie smiled. “What about you? You’re hanging late with the creatures, aren’t you?”

“Still working on that harpy gnat project.” Albus explained.

“What is it you’re doing with them, anyway?… I don’t think you said.” Jamie asked.

“We’re trying to breed a strain that doesn’t have the human risk, the deafening sound or those sharp feet.”

“Why’s that?”

“Well, they’re a key food source for Nackle Toads, and Nackle Toad mucus is a potential stabilizer for a number of healing positions…. So….”

“You make it easier for the toads to eat, the more mucus there is for our potions, etc...”

“Exactly.”

“Cool.” Jamie nodded, thinking about what someone like Michael could do with better ingredients. “Really, that’s cool.”

“I know.” Albus agreed as they reached the Castle and he needed to make his turn. “Well, if I don’t see you at dinner, see you tomorrow on the train, then.”

“Yes.. and don’t forget to pack something nice… for a night out.” Jamie reminded him, knowing his brother tended to be a little lax in the attire department.

“I’ll remember.” Albus shook his head. “He really is wearing off on you, you know.”

Jamie laughed realizing Scorpius would normally have been responsible for ensuring Albus had something appropriate to wear. “Maybe…”

 

\------^^^^------

 

First thing Sunday morning Jamie was up and flooing over to Scorp’s house. It was a beautiful day, and they’d already made plans to go flying.

“Hi.” Scorpius said with a big smile as Jamie pulled himself into the Malfoy’s drawing room along with his broom.

“Hi back to you.” Jamie replied with a smile that turned into a question as he looked at his boyfriend. “Where are the glasses?”

“Oh,” Scorpius laughed a little. “I really don’t need the except for distance. I don’t have to wear them all the time.”

“Oh….” Jamie said looking a little disappointed.

“Well, I will wear them for flying. So, you can look forward to that.” Scorpius teased Jamie gently before giving him a ‘welcome to my house and I’m very glad to see you, too,’ kiss.

Jamie wrapped his free arm around Scorpius and extended the kiss into something that was a little more lusty than an ‘I’m glad to see you, too’ kiss, which caused Scorpius to blush nicely.

“I’m really looking forward to this break.” Jamie remarked, looking at Scorpius’ slightly pink cheeks.

“Me, too…” He tugged at Jamie’s hand, “Come on. Dad had the elves do a little tune up on the brooms so they’d all be ready to go.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, Lin’s coming later… and…” Scorpius looked at Jamie a little guiltily, “Grandmother’s coming for lunch.”

“Oh.” Jamie was a little taken aback. “You didn’t tell me about that.”

“I didn’t know until late last night….”

“It’s alright…. I mean, if she hates my guts I guess I’ll just leave and never see you again, and that’ll be that.” Jamie said, looking as serious as he could manage given that he’d fallen into his relentless teasing mode.

“Yes… Well, I’ll make it up to you.” Scorpius smiled with a hint of a smirk.

“You bet you will.”

 

\------^^^^^-------

 

After a couple of hours of flying, including a rousing game of catch the snitch with Mr. Malfoy and Professor Williams, Jamie and Scorpius landed and made their way to Scorpius’ room to clean up for lunch.

“I wish I had known, I would have brought a change of clothing.” Jamie said, looking at the clothes Doxie had assembled and Mr. Malfoy had charmed to roughly fit.

He held them up, examining them.

“I know they’re not exactly your style, but Grandmother also has ideas about what one should wear to lunch.” Scorpius replied to Jamie’s skeptical look.

“Anything for you, dear.” Jamie whispered in Scorpius’ ear as he passed him on his way to the bath to shower and change.

Twenty minutes later Jamie was seated in the more informal of the two dining rooms at the Manor with Scorpius, Professor Williams, Mr. Malfoy and Scorpius’ rather stern looking grandmother. The conversation started out pleasantly enough, with Mr. Malfoy directing most of the interchange with his mother and everyone complementing the lunch Estie had prepared.

Eventually, Mrs. Malfoy directed her attention toward Jamie. “It’s very nice to meet you, finally, James.”

“And you, as well.” He responded, feeling suddenly fidgety under her glare.

“When was it you started seeing my grandson?”

“Just before my birthday, last fall.” Scorpius answered. “I’m sure I wrote you… You must remember… the cake?”

“Oh, that’s right.” She smiled a tiny, stiff smile. “Chocolate.”

Jamie smiled, remembering that night.

“And, what are your plans for next year?” She continued. “This is your last term at Hogwarts?”

“I’ve been accepted into the Aurors Initiate Training Programme.” Jamie answered.

“Following in your father’s footsteps, then?”

“I suppose.”

“You don’t sound particularly enthusiastic about the prospect.” She looked sideways at Jamie.

“Truthfully, I’m still thinking through what it is that I’d like to do in the future.” Jamie decided to be honest with the hope that it wouldn’t be a point against him. He was glad to see her respond with a smile.

“Well, Scorpius’ father wasn’t entirely sure what his future was going to be when he was your age, but he seems to have faired well.” She looked appreciatively at her son, and Jamie could see that for all her formality, there was a genuine and deep love there.

Jamie looked at the people seated around the table and realized it was somehow a family to which he belonged, and nodded. “Yes, I think that’s very true.”

 

\------^^^^-------

 

“What’s that, then?” Rose asked as Jamie unfolded the paper that concealed Scorpius’ gift. She’d managed to jockey and position herself in an optimal spot for the present opening having deftly woven in and nudged aside more than a dozen members of the Potter-Weasley family and cousins who had gathered at the Burrow to celebrate Jamie’s 18th birthday.

“You’re impatient, aren’t you?” Jamie teased his cousin, moving even more slowly now that he knew the audience was curious. He watched Scorpius lean in to get a good look at Jamie as he opened the present and thought for what might have been the hundredth time over the past week just how stupidly lucky he was.

When Jamie did eventually open the gift he exposed a wooden box which held inside it all kinds of charmed bits and pieces and a set of magical tools similar to ones he’d seen in Professor Finch-Fletchley’s office once.

“Where’d you find these, and what even are all of these?” He asked Scorpius with a look of happy surprise in his face.

“Well, I asked Theo Nott if he could help me find something for you, and he suggested this…” Scorpius reached across the table with an envelope. “And this, which goes with it.”

Jamie opened the envelope and his smile broadened. “Scorpius, how’d you do this?”

“It was easy. He volunteered, actually.” Scorpius explained. “He thought you might need some help getting the hang of the tools and someone to show you what to do with all the bits and pieces.”

“What is it?” Harry asked his son.

“It’s an invitation to bring the tools and work on a project of my choice, with Nott.” Jamie explained.

“Really?” Harry looked pleasantly surprised.

“What’s that look mean?” Jamie asked.

“Nothing, really. He’s just very private. Usually works alone.”

“We know… The morning we spent over there was… unusual.” Jamie agreed.

“I suppose he thinks you’re worth his time.” Scorpius added with a smile. “I can’t disagree there.”

“Okay…” Albus interjected with a marginally concealed eye-roll. “How about we get to the next gift.”

Jamie had already opened all his gifts save one, whatever it was his parents had found for him. Harry looked over at Ginny, who handed Jamie a small box. Jamie held it up to his ear and shook it. “Is it another watch? You just gave me one last year…”

“No…. Not a watch.” Harry answered.

Jamie shook his head and removed the bow. When he pulled the box open it revealed a key. “Okay, what’s this…?”

“It’s a key for Grimmauld Place.” Ginny answered.

“You’re giving me a house?” Jamie asked with some confusion.

“Well, no.” Harry replied.

“You’re giving me a key to our house?” Jamie asked, starting to laugh at the growing absurdity of the situation.

“No…” Ginny sighed realizing she needed to step in for her husband who seemed incapable of explaining their gift to their son. “Your father and I were thinking that you’d need a place to live next year… and we don’t spend much time at Grimmauld, and it’s so big. So, we thought we’d renovate and carve the place up a bit. Perhaps create a couple of flats on the upper floors for you and Albus or Lily when they’re old enough… and then we’d still have the first floors when we need somewhere to stay in the city.”

“Oh.” Jamie was a little overwhelmed. A flat of his own. He looked at his parents who looked so expectantly at him, and then at Scorpius who was giving him a slow nod and trying to encourage him. “Thank you… it’s… It’s so generous.”

“Are you sure you’re okay with it?” Harry asked, worrying it wasn’t as exciting as a new broom or tickets to a quidditch match, or something similar to what he’d received in past years.

“No. Dad.” He rose and pulled his father into a hug. “It’s really great. Really. Thank you so much.”

“Well, then.” Molly piped up, “I think it’s time for cake.”

“Absolutely!” Scorpius chimed in, not being one to ever turn down a good piece of chocolate cake.

 

\------^^^^-------

 

When Teddy, Zora, Albus, Jamie and Scorpius finally made it back to Grimmauld Place that night it was near on two in the morning. After they finished up at the Burrow, they flooed back to Grimmauld, cake in tow, to change and then meet up with Ben, Lissa, Michael and Susan who joined their group for a night of dancing at a club Teddy recommended.

Jamie thought he might never wake up once he fell asleep. In addition to dancing for hours, they’d spent the afternoon flying and playing a pick up quidditch game pitting all the cousins against the Weasley aunts and uncles. As usual, the Weasleys thrashed the cousins, but Jamie thought there were moments when his cousins let their parents get a bit of an advantage.

He pulled off his clothes and could still smell the combination of the club and Scorpius on them. The memory of Scorpius dancing, the light caught up in his hair and threading through his eyelashes, wrapped around him with a promise to come back again in his dreams… possibly more than once.

That memory was still whispering through his head when Jamie heard the door to his room open. He shifted in his bed and realized it was Scorpius, now standing just a few feet away. He was about to invite Scorpius over, but the silence in the room was nearly complete, and Jamie didn’t want to break it… at least not yet. Scorpius quietly pulled off his shirt, and Jamie watched the muscles in his torso ripple as he twisted out of the sleeves and let the garment fall to the floor. Then he slid off his pajama bottoms and stood before Jamie in the near dark of the room.

Looking at Scorpius, perfect and naked, Jamie felt his heart beat hard and blood fill every corner of his body. Scorpius took a step toward him and Jamie reached out, pulling him near, tracing his fingertips slowly over Scorp’s abdomen and resting his thumbs on the bones of his hips. He moved, positioning Scorpius between his legs as he edged himself to the side of the bed and began to lightly kiss Scorp's chest. He was still warm, and Jamie could taste the barest remnants of sweat as his tongue skimmed Scorpius’ ivory skin.

Scorpius' hands ruffled through Jamie’s hair and over his shoulders as he savored the sensation of Jamie’s mouth, moving back and forth across his chest. He pulled at Jamie’s shirt, his hands seeking out Jamie’s bare skin, and in a moment Jamie had shed his pajamas, as well.

They silently shifted into the bed, neither of them saying a word or even making a sound, until Scorpius was straddling Jamie, gently brushing Jamie’s lips with his own, their bodies just barely making contact. Jamie moved his hands gently across Scorpius’ back, not wanting any pressure to break the near ethereal feeling of Scorpius’ breath wisping across Jamie’s lips a he covered them with the lightest of kisses.

Scorpius' intention shifted and he ground down more firmly. Jamie felt Scorp’s warm, hard prick slide against his own. The sensation broke his resolve, and he pulled Scorpius into a needy embrace, teasing his tongue across Scorpius’ lips until Scorpius opened his mouth and gasped one of the soft moans Jamie had grown to love so much.

Jamie slid his hand down Scorpius side and under his hip until his fingers found Scorp’s cock, hard and wanting. He slid back the foreskin and rubbed his thumb along the dampening slit, coaxing Scorpius into a light, breathy moan, another of the sounds that made Jamie’s blood rise.

Scorpius savored the attention for a while, rocking slowly in and out of Jamie’s grip, and losing himself in Jamie’s kisses. Then, he broke from Jamie’s mouth and moved to tickle Jamie’s neck and ear with the tip of his tongue.

“I want you.” He whispered quietly into Jamie’s ear. “I want you… inside me, Jamie. I want you.”

Jamie’s body froze at the words. He could barely breathe, he wanted Scorpius so much. He pulled back and looked into Scorp’s eyes. “Are you sure?”

“Very, very sure.” Scorpius said, looking straight into Jamie’s eyes with a steady gaze that lit Jamie’s skin on fire.

Jamie wrapped his hand behind Scorpius’ neck and pulled him back into a kiss, this one deep and full of his desire and intention. He wanted Scorpius, too. More than he could ever put into words.

Scorpius responded in kind, picking up his pace and pressure, building their arousal, sliding his cock along Jamie’s and wrapping his hand around them both.

Jamie flipped them over so that he was on top of Scorpius now, sliding down and letting his tongue trace around Scorpius nipples, first the right and then the left. Scorpius arced under the attention and he wrapped his legs around Jamie’s waist, pulling them together again.

Jamie stopped for a moment, moving to fiddle with the bedside table until he pulled open the drawer and located the tube of lubricant.

Scorpius cocked an eyebrow, “Is that the ‘magic lube’?.” He smiled.

“You know it is…” Jamie grinned back, thinking of the night of Scorpius’ birthday.

Jamie warmed the gel in his hands and then moved his attention back to Scorpius, sliding down between Scorpius legs and teasing his slick fingers in and around his ass.

“Mmmm…” Scorpius whispered taking pleasure in the sensation, feeling his arousal building, “Soo good.”

Jamie felt Scorpius move to take in more of the finger that was curling up and inside him, and slid his middle finger in as well to give his boyfriend more. As he worked inside Scorpius, pressing, stretching and teasing him he propped himself up so that he could watch Scorpius respond to his touch. He loved the way Scorpius’ moved, how he stretched back with his shoulders while pressing down through his hips, exposing his whole torso like a flawless piece of marble destined to become a rare work of art.

Jamie felt a surge of want ripple through his body, “Merlin, you are just so fucking beautiful.”

Scorpius responded with a gentle moan and a sway of his hips, inviting Jamie to deepen his attention. Jamie felt himself getting harder by the moment, anticipating what was to come.

Jamie slid in a third finger and felt a slight moment of tension. “Are you okay?”

“Yes,” Scorpius murmured and moved again to press further into Jamie’s fingers. “It’s good….Let’s… now Jamie. Please.”

Jamie moved up and slicked himself with lubricant.

“Oh, wait.” Scorpius stopped, reaching for his wand.

“What is it?” Jamie asked, “Is something wrong?”

“No… It’s just… I kind of promised…” Then Scorpius flicked his wand, whispering something that sounded like _protego intimae_ , and Jamie shivered with the sensation of magic prickling over his skin.

Then Scorpius set the wand down and pulled a pillow under his hips. Jamie positioned himself again, looking down to see the tip of his cock just lined up with Scorpius’ hole. His heart was beating so hard and so fast now he thought he might pass out.

“Scorp. Merlin… I …. What if I… What if I screw it up?” He asked quietly, looking into Scorpius’ face which bloomed into a gentle smile.

“First off…” he began to shake a little, giggling slightly. “I’m fairly certain that even if it’s completely awful, your partner will give you another chance… at least one.” He held Jamie’s gaze, his heart filling as he saw how much Jamie wanted this for them. “Second, I’ve been studying the Guide, and so far, everything seems to be going as it should.”

“You’ve been studying…” Jamie was starting to laugh a little, too.

“Well, you know… I do like to consult the available resources.” He smiled a crooked smile.

Jamie leaned forward to kiss his boyfriend, and felt his whole heart open. “God, I love you…”

“I love you..” Jamie repeated again as he moved back and began to press into Scorpius, feeling the tip of his cock breach the muscle at Scorp’s entrance.

“I love you.” Jamie repeated again, unable to stop the flow of feeling as he pressed further and felt himself slide inside Scorpius’ body. He was tight and warm, and Jamie looked up at Scorpius’ face. “Are you okay?”

Scorpius nodded, “It’s good…” he whispered, “keep going.”

Jamie pushed further and then paused, worried he was going to come much sooner than he wanted.

“Are you okay?” Scorpius asked now.

“Yeah… I just… I think I’m getting ahead of myself a little.” Jamie answered. “Do you mind if we wait a moment?”

Scorpius laughed, and Jamie could feel him moving from the inside. It was extraordinary, being this connected.

“I suppose so…” Scorpius answered, looking around… “So, it looks like the Cannons might have a good year for a change.” He added.

“What?” Jamie started laughing now… “What’s that?”

“I just figured… you know, if you need to take your mind off things…”

“That some quidditch small talk might do the trick?” Jamie ran his fingers back and forth over Scorpius’ shoulders as Scorpius shrugged in response.

“Well. I don’t know…”

“The Cannons?”

“It came to mind… Maybe it’s the heavy artillery… or the wood between their legs…” Scorpius was well teasing his boyfriend now.

“Oh stop…. Please…” Jamie bit his lip, trying to concentrate. “Fuck, Scorpius.”

Scorpius cocked an eyebrow at Jamie. “I think that’s the idea.”

“Okay, that’s it, then.” Jamie smiled, taking back the reigns of this operation and pressing into Scorpius again, “You still okay?”

“Yes.” Scorpius answered, “Yes,” He wrapped his legs more tightly around Jamie and pushed down on to Jamie’s cock, encouraging him to fill him completely. When he did, Scorpius closed his eyes and marveled at the sensation. It was tight, and he could feel himself straining, but it was exquisite, too.

Jamie pulled out a bit and pressed back in and Scorpius let out a moan unlike anything Jamie’d heard before. He did it a again, and Scorpius moaned again, this time adding an encouraging “yes.” Then Jamie began to go with the rhythm he could feel building between them, matching the pace of their breathing and the sound of Scorpius’ delicious moans and murmurs, adjusting himself to try to find the spot he knew could give Scorpius more pleasure.

He pulled back more and pressed in deeper, savoring the tight slickness around his cock and the way his tip slid against the soft warm flesh inside Scorpius. Scorpius’ back arced as Jamie found something.

Pleasure shot out from their joining and across Scorpius’ body. “Merlin, yes, yes…. _That_ ….. Jamie... ” Scorpius encouraged Jamie with raspy emotion.

The naked desire in Scorpius’ voice left Jamie completely undone. He pressed in again and again, his balls tightening on the edge of an orgasm. He felt his breathing break into deep groans as he filled Scorpius over and over. When he opened his eyes, Scorpius had wrapped his hand around his own cock and was stroking himself hard, his moans steady and strong as he rose with the mounting pleasure. He heard Scorpius’ breath catch and felt Scorpius’ orgasm ripple through his body, encircling Jamie’s cock in waves as he thrust in, greedily mining his body and Scorpius’ for all the pleasure they could make. Moments later, Jamie was coming, too, shaking with the force of it as his cum rushed inside Scorpius’ body.

Afterward, Jamie was panting, trying to catch his breath when he looked up at Scorpius who was stretched out, his head back and his neck exposed in the most tantalizing way. Jamie pulled out and moved to take advantage of the display, nibbling and teasing at Scorpius’ beautiful glowing skin, so soft and perfect.

“Mmmm” Scorpius sighed as Jamie lavished attention on his neck, trailing his own fingertips down Jamie’s back and stroking the dimple on the side of his bum.

Jamie shifted his attention from Scorp’s neck to his chin and then rose to look in Scorp’s face, which featured a very pleased looking smile. “Good?” Jamie asked.

“Yes…” Scorpius smile grew. “Very good.”

“Did it..” Jamie wasn’t sure how to ask. “Did it hurt… Does it?”

Scorpius looked at him, thinking. “Not exactly… I can feel it, but…” He was trying to find the best explanation. “It’s a little like when you play a hard match… You might hurt yourself, and you feel it after, but the feeling’s kind of good because you’re remembering something really, really great… really good.”

“Okay.” Jamie answered, a bit reassured.

“Jamie.” Scorpius held Jamie’s chin and looked in his eyes. “It was really good. It was, ‘ _when the hell can we do that again?_ ’ good…”

Jamie smiled. “Good.. because I really want to do that again… definitely.”

“Just not right this moment, though…” Scorpius laughed a little.

Jamie leaned down to kiss Scorpius’ smiling lips and heard the sound of someone’s stomach growling. “Was that you?”

“I’m not sure.. maybe?”

“Well, I guess we have built up a little bit of an appetite… I think there’s still some cake downstairs… If no one else has made a snack of it.”

Scorpius bounced up. “Can we? That sounds really good.”

“Sure, let’s just clean up, huh?” Jamie laughed and pulled Scorp back in for a kiss, not wanting to end things just yet, even if his Gran’s chocolate cake was on offer.

It was another few minutes before Jamie and Scorpius were down in the kitchen, serving themselves two generous slices of cake.

“Mmmm….” Scorpius moaned, eyes closed, while he slowly withdrew a fork, formerly filled with cake, from his lips.

“Careful, or I’ll think you like the cake better than you like me.”

Scorpius opened an eye and cocked an eyebrow, “That’s not possible…. There’s no cake in the world that can do what you can…” He nearly glowed with the thought of Jamie and what they had just done, the love they shared. He leaned forward and gave Jamie the slowest, most sultry kiss he could manage, one that left him blushing after.

Jamie brought his hand to Scorpius’ head, threading his fingers through his slightly disheveled hair and letting his eyes wash over Scorp’s beautiful face. “That was….”

“Amazing…” Scorpius finished with a sigh. “It was…” He started before he was cut off by Jamie’s lips, kissing him again, soft and sweet, his tongue tickling his lower lip and opening his mouth to take it deeper.

They were interrupted by a cough, Teddy’s cough, to be exact. “3 AM snack?” Teddy asked.

Jamie shrugged, “We got hungry.”

“At the same time?” Teddy finished.

“Looks that way.” Jamie offered as an answer which was met with a skeptical eye by Teddy.

“Mind if I join you?” He asked.

“Sure… Let me get you a slice.” Scorpius said as he pulled out a plate and fork for Teddy.

The three of them sat at the kitchen table, enjoying their second round of cake.

“Gran really does make fantastic cake.” Teddy affirmed.

“Mmmm-hummm” Scorpius answered, finishing up the last of his.

“Oh…” Jamie said, looking at Scorpius, “I forgot to tell you. I think I have an idea of what I want to try with Nott.”

“You do, huh?” Scorpius said, his lips twitching a little.

“Yeah, I think so… It’ might be a little unconventional, but I think it could work.”

“So… a _plan_ then.” Scorpius broke into a smile.

“Yeah. A plan… or a bit of one.” Jamie smiled back at Scorpius.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is essentially the end of this volume... They'll be one more chapter that's a little epilogue-ish, and wraps up a couple of outstanding things... and allows our couple to enjoy a moment before Jamie's off to Auror training. Then, future adventures will have their own stories.
> 
> Hope you've enjoyed it.


	25. Parts Unknown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The year comes to a close, and Jamie sees an idea of his put into action. The boys engage in a little over-done revelry, and everyone makes it back to Kings Cross in one piece.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end of part two! ... Now I'll be working on the Draco/Lin story a bit while I whip up future adventures for Scames (?).... And, I still have a wedding to deliver... which will happen (a promise is a promise).

Scorpius watched Jamie’s finger, now slightly tanned like most of the rest of him from spring quidditch, as it trailed slowly up his thigh, across his hip and around his nipple. After a couple of turns Jamie shifted his hand and began to stroke the raised center with his thumb, leaning in for another slow, post-sex kiss. Scorpius hadn't decided yet if he preferred pre-sex kisses or post-sex kisses. The former had the promise of what was to come, while the latter were like dessert after a delicious main course.

Over the past month Scorpius had several occasions to consider just exactly what he liked best about sex with Jamie Potter, but every time he thought he’d settled on one thing something else caught his attention, and he had to go back to the drawing board. After they returned from the Easter break, Jamie had made it his mission to find them time together on an ongoing basis, and Scorpius and Jamie had found themselves spending several uninterrupted spring afternoons or evenings (when they weren’t devoted to quidditch or revising for exams) in either Jamie’s dorm or the Room of Requirement, along with some spur of the moment occasions like last Monday in the showers and the Sunday before on the North Tower exploring this new dimension of their relationship. There was only a month left in the school year, and they’d silently agreed to make the most of the time they had left living under one roof, even if it was a very large and communal one.

“Guess who I got an owl from today?” Jamie asked.

“I’ve no idea. My father?” Scorpius looked sideways at Jamie, knowing that wasn’t the answer but understanding Jamie didn’t really expect him to guess.

“Theo Nott. They’re going to try out a version of my idea for the gnat borne surveillance.”

“Really?” Scorpius perked up now. He wouldn’t have said so to Jamie but he had been highly skeptical of Jamie's idea that charmed gnats could be used as a vehicle for surveillance tech. Apparently Nott thought it was intriguing enough to give it a go.

“That’s right. Nott was able to get the cameras miniaturized to a particulate so that they could be carried on the gnats… I had a feeling.”

Scorpius pulled Jamie in for a kiss and hooked his other finger around Jamie’s velvety soft cock. “So, you were right.” He smiled, feeling Jamie start to stiffen in his hand.

“Well, at least they’re going to try it.”

“That’s pretty cool.”

“Yeah…” Jamie nodded while looking down at Scorpius’ hand which had coaxed him into a full erection. “You want to go again? Michael’s going to be down in the Potions lab for at least another hour… maybe longer.”

“Why not?”

 

\------^^^^-------

 

Less than a fortnight later, Teddy was shaking Jamie awake in the middle of the night.

“Hey… Jamie…” Jamie looked up to see the familiar face.

“Hey… wake up…” Teddy shook Jamie again.

“What time is it?” Jamie asked, looking around in the pitch black.

“It’s about half three in the morning… Really, wake up. It’ll be worth it. I promise.”

“How in Godric’s name are you so chipper?” Jamie asked, looking Teddy up and down and rising from the bed, looking over at Michael sleeping soundly and realizing Teddy must have cast a _muffliato_ over their conversation.

“Because, I know what we’re waking up for.”

“Care to share?”

“You’ll see…” He teased as Jamie pulled on his trousers and a jumper and slipped on a pair of trainers.

“Okay. Let’s go.” Jamie said, giving his head a shake to work some blood to his brain. “I hope you have some kind of excuse brewed for why I’m going to be useless in class tomorrow… Merlin… today.”

“Don’t worry about that… This’ll be worth it.”

With that, Teddy shuffled Jamie down to Neville’s library and flooed them to a location Jamie didn’t recognize where they were met by an auror and apparated to a third location.

“Follow me.” The auror directed and began walking down a long hallway. Jamie looked around and realized they were at the DMLE. It wasn’t his father’s floor, but he was familiar enough with the place to recognize they weren’t far from the firing range and defensive arts practice studios.

After a couple of turns and a short elevator ride they were deposited at the back of what looked like an operations center. The room was buzzing with activity, and if he hadn’t just been pulled from sleep he never would have known it was four in the morning. In addition to nearly two dozen people running around, there were four or five rows of work stations with what looked like charmed parchment, two-way mirrors, and other magical data and communications materials. There were also six large screens up at the front of the room, some with active feeds of moving images, and others currently blank.

“Jamie. I’m glad you could make it.” It was Theo Nott looking surprisingly lively for such an early hour.

“Sure….” Jamie looked at him with a little bit of confusion.

“Why are you here?” Nott answered his thought. “I thought you’d like to see your surveillance concept in action, and your father okayed it, so….”

“Oh.” Jamie perked up. “Yeah…. That’s great. Wow… Thank you, Mr. Nott…. Um…. Is my dad here?”

“He’s just in a briefing. He should be here in a few minutes.” Another auror, a dark haired woman about his dad’s age who Jamie vaguely recognized, answered.

“Here.” Nott pointed Jamie and Teddy to a couple of seats. “Why don’t you settle here. That’ll give you a good view. The data should resolve on that screen there.” Nott pointed to one of six screens at the front of the room.

“What are the others?”

“A couple of them are stationery surveillance cameras: those two” Nott pointed. “And the other three will give us feeds of body cameras from agents in the field.”

Jamie looked around the room at the hive of activity. There were at least five different groups of people all engaged in what looked like deep conversation. Some were hunched over stacks of parchment at the various work stations, while others were in small groups around the room in various kinds of deliberations that involved lots of serious expressions as well as nodding and shaking heads.

The auror who had told him about his father’s briefing spoke up. “Let’s look lively everyone, operational go is expected in less than twenty minutes.”

Jamie watched the groups begin to break up and assemble at the various stations, and a couple of the body cameras switched on.

“Goyle here. I’m go.” the voice from camera one said.

“Hendricks. My subject is now in transit.” The voice from camera two added a few minutes later.

About five minutes after that the voice from camera three chimed in “DiMarco. We’re moving.”

Jamie wasn’t sure exactly what he was looking at, but everyone seemed keenly intent on the progress of the three aurors who were moving toward something, or some place, probably. Jamie had to assume it was some kind of raid. He was trying to make out what was going on in camera one when the room’s attention shifted toward one of the entrances and he looked up to see his dad walk in.

“Good morning, sir.” The dark haired auror greeted his dad, “We’re just tracking the agents in the field. No activity at the location, yet, however.”

His dad nodded and leafed through some papers the auror handed him when she reported.

Jamie looked at the three other people who had walked in behind his dad and noticed that one of them was the man he’d seen at Theo Nott’s place a few weeks back. He leaned over to Nott, who was sitting on the other side of Teddy.

“Who’s that man behind my dad, the dark haired one with the coat?” Jamie asked.

“Oh, that’s Jack.” Theo tipped his head, searching for a description. “He works with the muggle agency that handles some of their ‘unusual’ cases.” He looked up at the screens. “One of their agents is in the field… number two… Hendricks.”

“Oh… So, there are muggles involved in this?” Jamie asked, now slightly more curious about what was going on.

“Yes. I don’t have all the ins and outs, but it seems to be some kind of a drug or smuggling ring that involves magical and non-magical people. Your dad’s had a team working on it for a while.”

Jamie looked at Teddy who was making a pointed effort at not listening to the conversation happening in front of his face.

“What do you know about this?” Jamie asked his cousin.

“A little… but not much…. Mostly that what I do know, I’m not supposed to share.” Teddy looked at Jamie, conveying the impression that the same would hold for him, as well.

Jamie looked back at his dad, who was hunched over one of the work stations, talking into some kind of mouthpiece he was wearing. Then he moved up to another work station and gave some instructions to the auror seated there, who looked to be quickly complying.

As Jamie watched his dad move around the room, directing the operation, he felt an unexpected surge of pride. He knew his dad was ‘Head Auror’, but knowing his title and seeing him in action in a setting like this was completely new. All the times he’d seen his dad on the job before he’d just been answering owls and fire-calls, being called into meetings, or engaged in some other kind of administrative activity. This was altogether different and incredibly impressive. Jamie thought about all the times he saw his father come home from work late, his face drawn, or the times he heard him deep in conversation in his study with some call, and he realized that all of that fed into this – making something real happen.

Suddenly camera three was reporting in, and half the room was fixated on that camera. “We’re departing from the expected course,” DiMarco was reporting in. “He seems to be headed elsewhere.”

“Just keep on the subject.” The dark haired woman instructed.

The other two agents, the muggle, Hendricks, and Goyle, were still moving, and it was at least ten more minutes before they arrived at the location with the stationary surveillance equipment, because it was then that Jamie could see them on the two screens. Goyle greeted a small group of people on one of the screens, and Hendricks held back, watching another group that was existing a van just on the edge of the second screen. Both groups moved and appeared to be walking into a building.

“Okay, Andrews, you ready?” Jamie’s dad asked into his mouthpiece.

“I’m go.” a voice called out.

“Great. Let’s activate the mobile surveillance.” Harry instructed.

At that Nott rose, and Jamie could see the screen that was to show the gnat surveillance begin to light up. There were hundreds of different points of data that were working to resolve into a moving, nearly panoramic view of the inside of the warehouse.

Jamie could see from Goyle’s camera that he was inside the warehouse with the two groups, while the muggle agent remained outside, watching the door and the muggles’ vehicle.

“Can you get a closer view?” Harry asked Nott.

Theo swirled his wand and gave it a couple of flicks and the image began to concentrate and enlarge on the group of people in the room. That’s when Jamie recognized the agent “Goyle” as one of the people who was involved in Scorp’s kidnapping. Now his attention was definitely focused on what was happening.

As soon as they saw an exchange take place and heard Goyle say something like “That’s good.” his dad gave the order to go in.

Suddenly the room on the screen was flooded with aurors, wands drawn, and spells and curses were being fired. There were flashes of light, and people falling stunned to the ground. Then, almost as suddenly, it was over. The two groups of people were being arrested, five suspects in all, and the people in the room were congratulating themselves.

Jamie looked at his dad who was wearing an expression that looked not all together thrilled, however.

“I’m sorry, sir. We had good intelligence he’d be there for this.” The dark haired woman said.

“I know… We did….” His dad answered. “Well…. We’ll take what we can get. It’s something, and everything else went exactly as planned.”

Harry turned to the room. “Thank you everyone. Great work on this. We’ll need all the recordings and data. Please submit them to Auror Kovic, as per the usual,” he motioned to the dark-haired woman. “She’ll be taking lead on assembling evidence for the cases.” His dad turned to go and then turned back around to the group “The debriefing will be at 11 in the Shacklebolt room.”

He turned and gave Jamie a quick wave before walking back out of the room with ‘Jack’ and two other official looking people Jamie couldn’t place.

“Well.” Nott said, with a playful smile on his face, “That all went swimmingly, I think…. Who’s up for breakfast?”

Jamie hadn’t thought about it but he was hungry. It was now nearly six in the morning. It seemed like much less time had passed, but it had been nearly two hours since they’d arrived.

“I could eat, yeah.” Jamie answered and Teddy nodded in agreement.

“Perfect. The caf here is shite, but I know a good place not far.” Nott said, rising to take them out of the room. He turned toward Jamie, “Just so we’re clear. Everything you saw here is not to be repeated. They’ll have cases pending, and there’s a UA that can’t be divulged. You do understand, right?”

“Yes, I’m clear.” Jamie answered.

“I can _obliviate_ you of some of the key elements, if you like… and still leave some of the memories intact...” Nott offered. “If you have any concern that you can’t maintain confidentiality.”

“No.” Jamie said, not wanting to lose the memory. “I understand. I’m good.”

Ten minutes later Nott, Teddy and Jamie were seated in a pub that offered breakfast, and Jamie was staring down a huge plate of bacon, eggs, potatoes and toast as well as a large mug of coffee.

“This is good.” Teddy complimented, sweeping some egg into his mouth with a bit of toast.

“Definitely better than what they serve in the DMLE dining room. They’re on some kind of health kick there, and everything’s some version of healthy, whole-grain, organic… whatever.” Nott said with disdain. “If I want sawdust, I could eat Witchy Wheats.”

“Hey.” Jamie countered with a laugh, “Don’t disparage those, they’re one of Scorp’s favorites.”

“Well, there’s no accounting for taste.” Nott shook his head.

“He does add a lot of sugar.” Jamie added, remembering Scorpius’ routine with the cereal when he ate it.

“How’s he fairing?” Nott asked.

“He’s doing well.” Jamie answered. “Really well. He needs glasses for class and flying, but otherwise, he’s pretty much perfect.”

“Says you.” Teddy added with an elbow to Jamie’s ribs that prompted a blush.

“Ummm….” Jamie mumbled through a bite of bacon. “I’ve been meaning to ask you, when you were removing the spell, what was that flash in the box?”

“Oh, that.” Nott remembered. “That was a spider.”

“A spider?”

“Yes. I needed to give the spell a host to complete its action, so I used a spider from my window at home.”

“So, it burned alive…” Jamie concluded.

“That’s right.” Nott answered with a nod. “If it makes you feel any better, I think it was an old spider.”

“Well, if it had to be anything…. I don’t know what would have been better….” Jamie shook his head.

“In any case.” Teddy interrupted the somewhat maudlin direction the conversation was taking, “Thank you again for inviting us.”

“Oh, yes.” Jamie agreed, enthusiastically. “It was really, incredible. You’ll have to show me how you got the cameras miniaturized to be carried like that… and what you did to resolve the data. That was amazing…. really.”

“Of course.” Nott prickled with energy at the idea of sharing his discoveries. “Maybe we can work on some improvements when you come over.” He suggested.

“I’d love that…. I’m still not sure when I’ll be able to schedule it. I have my last NEWTs in just over a week, and then I start Auror training at the beginning of July.”

“Well, don’t worry about it. The invitation’s open.” Nott replied. “You know, you really should think about magical tech. You have a gift for it, I think.”

“Maybe.” Jamie cocked his head. “Once I finish Basic we’ll have options for specialization.... It was really cool.” He could feel the hairs on the back of his neck standing up thinking back to watching the data resolve on the screen…. His idea, real and really working.

Nott was looking at him with a somewhat remote look. “You remind me quite a bit of your uncles, Fred and George, you know…. Fred, in particular….” Nott trailed off for a moment, seeming to dip into the past with the memory, “He really was quite brilliant, you know.”

“That’s what Uncle George says.” Jamie agreed.

“He must miss him…” Nott considered, his expression unreadable, but Jamie thought he saw something there like regret or loss, he wasn’t sure.

“He does, but I think he likes still working on the kinds of things they did together… Somehow, it always seems like he’s bringing a little bit of Uncle Fred to life with it….” Jamie shook his head. “That might seem strange… I don’t know….”

“I think you’re right.” Teddy answered. “It seems that way to me, too.”

“Well.” Nott said, looking at his watch. “I think we’d better finish up. You don’t want to miss too much of school today, or perhaps you’ll just want to get a little catch-up nap…”

“Right.” Jamie answered, finishing up the last of his breakfast before they departed back to the Ministry and to Hogwarts.

 

\------^^^^------

 

The Three Broomsticks was packed to the gills with students celebrating the final afternoon of exams, and, for a group of 5th year students, belatedly celebrating the birthday of one Carlos Zabini, who had the grave misfortune of being born June 12th, which this year was right on the eve of Exam Week. They were all more than due for a full night of revelry.

“Here’s to the very last of us to turn 16,” Yann pronounced. “I raise a glass to my little brother from another mother, and an extremely tolerant dorm mate, Carlos!”

Everyone was saluting and cheering Carlos when Scorpius saw Jamie walk in with Michael and Susan. They made their way over to the celebrants, stopping to wish Carlos a happy 16th, before Michael and Susan continued through on the hunt for Ben, Lissa and a few of their other friends.

“How was Transfig?” Scorpius asked about Jamie’s practical exam, which was where he and Michael had been just before. Jamie’d been working around the clock for the last two months on Transfiguration and DADA, his last two critical NEWTs.

“Good, I think.” Jamie said, “I got hung up on a couple of spells, but overall I think I pulled at least an E. Teddy’s help was a bit of a lifesaver.”

Scorpius knew that meant that it was highly likely Jamie’d earned an O. For someone who had the reputation of being boastful and outgoing, Jamie was actually very likely to downplay his marks and achievements. Scorpius thought it might be to try to balance the overreaction his family attracted generally for even the most mundane activities. Just a few weeks ago Jamie had helped pull a student out of the lake and was rewarded with “Potter Progeny Set to Save Wizarding World, One Wizard At A Time” in that week’s _Prophet_.

“How’d DADA finish up for you?” Jamie asked Scorpius about his final.

“Good… overall good.” Scorpius looked around. “I can’t believe it’s the end of the year.”

“I know….” Jamie took in the scene. “My last time…. A couple of weeks from now and I’ll be in training.”

Scorpius took Jamie’s hand, knowing he was a bit nervous about the training programme, and just the change in general. “It’ll be great, and you’ll get new dorm mates.” Scorp added hopefully.

“Yeah. Dorm for the first year, anyway… Good thing, too, because my parents are having a devil of a time with the reno on Grimmauld. The old wards and magic in the place is proving to be much more stubborn than they expected.” Jamie shrugged. “Anyway, let’s have fun. Can I get you another?” Jamie added motioning at Scorp’s empty glass, “Or maybe some firewhisky or an ale?”

“Sure, whatever you’re drinking.” Scorpius answered as Jamie made his way over to the bar, stopping to chat with classmates, teammates and acquaintances on the way.

The pub seemed to roll, sway and breathe with the movement of the students packed inside. Scanning the crowd while he waited, Scorpius noticed Karl and Kris Jenkins with some of their friends over at one end of the bar. They’d been taken off suspension after the Easter break when it had come to light that they’d only been lured into the kitchen kick-back scheme as a result of Professor Mexborough having gone missing (she was an aunt of theirs, and their family had been blackmailed by the des Jardins or someone with the company). Jamie told him there was some kind of raid on a drug ring or something that was related to the whole thing, but that the Aurors were being very ‘hush-hush’ about it because it was still part of a larger operation. In any case, Scorpius wasn’t actually all that concerned. He was back to normal, had survived exams, some of the hard feelings around the school seemed to have been set aside, and he was set for an interesting summer.

The thought of summer put him on the search again, and when he caught sight of Albus he looked to be chatting intently with Phoebe. Scorpius tipped his head and wondered what they were talking about. He figured whatever it was, he’d be caught up on it on the train the next day, if he could get it out of Albus before they fell asleep.

“What’s that look?” Jamie asked when he returned with a couple of pints.

“Oh, I was just thinking that I’m probably going to sleep the entire ride tomorrow.” Scorpius answered.

“If that’s your plan, we’re definitely staying out as late as possible tonight.” Jamie smiled and Scorpius watched his eyes crinkle up at the edges. Suddenly, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye.

“Ugh.” He let out a groan, pushing a spider off Jamie’s arm and stepping on it.

“Hey.” Jamie said. “That’s not nice…”

“I know… I owe my life to a spider. You told me before.” Scorpius rolled his eyes thinking that even if he did owe his life to a spider, that didn’t make him any more fond of them.

“That’s true… and I owe your life to a spider.” Jamie pulled him in for a kiss that was leaning toward sloppy, “So, I need to defend their honor.”

“Perhaps we need to think of some way to properly note their sacrifice.” Scorpius teased.

“Perhaps we do.” Jamie answered with a silly smile.

 

\------^^^^-------

 

“Salazar’s saggy sack, my head hurts.” Scorpius groaned, rolling over in the bed. He opened his eyes just slightly to see green drapery and was extremely happy that he seemed to have made it back to his own bed. He looked over to the other bed in the room and recognized a head of messy, black hair which confirmed he definitely was in his own room.

Albus rolled over, “Good night?”

“Maybe too good. Do you have any hangover potion?” Scorpius asked hopefully, not sure if Albus would and not really having the energy to get up and make his way to Yann and Carlos’ to ask Yann, who definitely would have some.

“You’re in luck. It’s in the top drawer on the left.” He pointed to his desk.

Scorpius pulled himself up from the bed and turned toward the desk.

“Um… Scor….” Albus started and then started laughing… “Scor…..” More laughter.

“What is it?” Scorpius swatted behind him before reaching for the vial of potion, thinking he may have fallen asleep on a quill. He’d done that a couple of times over the last week and it was endlessly amusing to Albus.

“What’s that on your arm?”Albus asked as Scorpius took a swig of the potion.

Scorpius immediately thought of the smudge that had made a home on his right arm. He turned to look his forearm, and saw the mark which was actually a clearer kind of figure eight now… ‘ _How long had it been since he’d even looked at it?_ ’ he wondered…. He also noticed it had some kind of line drawn out of it, now. He tried to turn his arm to look further, but it continued around the back of his upper arm, and he couldn’t get a good look at what was there.

“Tell me… what’s there?” Scorpius said, with a little annoyance at Albus, who was still trying to stifle laughter..

“Umm…. You go anywhere after the Broomsticks last night?”

Scorpius pulled Albus into the bathroom where he could get a better look at what was going on.

“What the… **_Fuck Merlin_** … What on Earth?” Scorpius looked from the mirror to his arm, twisting to see which parts he could without the mirror, then at Albus, and back at himself to get a more complete picture. It was a tattoo… of a spider… that appeared to be weaving a web across the back of his upper arm and shoulder, with an extension just down to the mark on his right forearm. He was trying to reach it the bulk of it with his fingers when he heard Jamie at the door.

“Al, Scor, you in there?” Jamie called.

“How’d you get in?” Albus asked.

“A first year took pity on me… and I may have bribed him…” He explained as he crossed the room to the en suite. “Godric’s nuts. You too?”

“Don’t tell me.” Albus looked at his brother, “This was your idea?”

“I don’t have a clue. I just know I have one, too.” He pulled off his shirt to expose a similar tattoo on his chest.

Albus poked at it, suppressing a laugh. “That looks permanent.” He grimaced and then broke into a full laugh at his brother’s expense, despite his efforts.

“Don’t look so bloody pleased.” Jamie groaned.

“My dad’s going to have a seizure.” Scorpius rolled his head, thinking about Draco’s likely reaction to such a plebeian act. He looked over at Jamie and cocked his head “On the other hand… yours doesn’t look half bad.”

He touched Jamie’s chest just above his right nipple where his spider was casting a her web, quickly pulled his finger away as the inky arachnid skittled toward it.

Jamie turned Scorpius around and traced his finger from Scorpius’ shoulder down his tricep where his spider was working on her web. “I kind of like yours, too.”

“Okay.” Albus rolled his eyes and pushed the two of them out of the bathroom. “While you two decide if your new body décor is repellent or alluring, I’m going to take a piss.”

“Am I completely mad that I think they’re growing on me?” Scorpius asked after Albus slammed the door on them.

“Maybe… I don’t know… How big do you think they’ll get?” Jamie wondered looking down at his. “I really hope they don’t just keep going.”

“Surely we would have said something about that, don’t you think?”

Jamie shrugged. “Who knows?”

 

\------^^^^------

 

Three hours later, they were all loading on the Express, hauling trunks containing their worldly possessions and a year’s worth of memories alongside. Albus and Scorpius made their way to their regular spot toward the end of the train, which was now becoming known as their carriage rather than being a corner they had to make an effort to claim.

After they set down their things and settled Snap and Crackle’s cage in a spot where the guineas were unlikely to be disturbed, Albus turned to go to check on the other students. Before he could leave the compartment Scorpius remarked to his back, “Nice badge, by the way” referencing the prefect badge affixed to Albus’ robes. When Albus turned back to him he added. “Phoebe seen you in that yet?”

Albus pinked up a little.

“What was that, last night, anyway?” Scorpius asked.

“Nothing much, just chatting.” Albus looked at the floor, not really wanting to catch Scorpius’ direct gaze.

“Well, maybe you can owl over the summer?”

“That’s what she said.” Albus said, biting his lip a little. “Anyway, I best be going.”

A few hours later the Hogwarts Express was rolling into Kings Cross Station, and an entire castle’s worth of students began to tumble on to platform 9 3/4 to be reunited with family and friends.

As they emptied out of the train, Albus and Scorpius were swallowed up by the Potter-Weasley-Malfoy contingent which included Rose, Lily, Jamie and Hugo in addition to themselves. All six of them were jockeying in a kind of scrum, saying goodbye to friends, teasing one another, and making plans for a family get together to celebrate before Albus was off to America the following week and Jamie started training the week after.

Albus looked over and noticed Scorpius and Jamie holding hands and generally looking like the sappy couple they’d become over the past few weeks, much to Albus’ moderate chagrin. Albus was happy for the two of them, but he also wasn’t regretting the fact that they’d all be split for most of the summer and he’d have his best friend to himself come the fall.

“Scorpius and Jamie got tattoos!” Lily yelled out, and Albus realized that meant his parents and/or Mr. Malfoy had arrived on the scene. He looked over at his brother, and reminded him “You should have bribed her. Have you learned nothing?” Then he turned to look at Scorpius who was looking at his dad who was wearing an expression which looked something like resigned disgust.

“Well, that is interesting news, Lily.” Mr. Malfoy drawled as he drew close to the group. “Who do we have to thank for that decision?” He asked, pointedly looking at both Scorpius and Jamie.

“I’m afraid this is on me” Scorpius said, then cracked a little smile.

“Literally.” Draco rolled his eyes and then smiled a little, too. “It is truly unfortunate your mother isn’t around, because I would have loved to have seen her react to this.” He turned toward Ginny and Harry. “Ginny, what do you make of this?”

“What’s that?” She asked, having arrived a bit late on the scene.

“Our sons seem to have indulged themselves in a pair of tattoos… at least per the report Lily gave.”

“Oh?” Ginny raised her eyebrows. “Is that so?”

Jamie looked elsewhere, suddenly very interested in the timetable at the other side of the station.

“Jamie? Care to let me know what it is?” Ginny continued.

“A spider…” Jamie answered, now trying to look at his mother without feeling overwhelming guilt. He kept telling himself this shouldn’t be a big deal. He was 18, it was not unusual these days….

“A spider?”

“Yeah. A spider in honor of the one that died for Scorpius.” He looked at his mother and Mr. Malfoy who was starting to shake, and then suddenly broke into laughter.

“A _spider_?” He laughed looking at Scorpius. “You hate spiders… And this was your idea?”

All Scorpius could do was shrug. “I suppose I don’t hate them as much now. I do owe at least one a debt of gratitude.”

“Well,” Draco shook his head. “We’d better be off. I can’t wait to get a look at this masterpiece…. Please tell me it’s at least a decent depiction.”

“It’s not bad.” Scorpius answered.

“Your grandmother is going to have a seizure.” Draco intoned.

Albus started laughing, and Scorpius pulled him into a hug. “Enough, you.” He said, knowing he was being laughed at for the Malfoy family similarity. “I’ll see you next week, then.” He released his friend.

“Yup, and then we’re off to parts unknown.”

“At least for the summer.” Scorpius qualified with a smile at his best friend.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you're thinking - I love suggestions/ideas...


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